Ned Ashton was interested in getting a few gigs. A rock star at one time, he liked to keep his hand in by playing locally every once in a while.
He owned stock in a record company, L & B records, and liked to scout local talent whenever he had the chance. Most of the time, his job at ELQ kept him busy, but sometimes there were lulls that allowed him to engage in his hobbies.
The London Underground was a new club, and Ned wasn't sure if they'd be interested in his kind of music. His cousin, Skye, worked publicity there and a few times had assured him they wouldn't be interested. But Ned took his cousin's opinions with a grain of salt always, when it came to music, or anything else at all.
So he went and played for the manager. He got a gig for Thursday nights.
Amused, he decided not to tell his cousin, Skye. Then he'd just be there when she came in to work. It would be fun to see her jaw drop.
Over at Joanna's house, Joanna and A.J. were getting ready to go out. They were going to meet Jason and Maureen at the Outback Restaurant. "Look at this story."
"Man, I'm glad my drinking days are over," AJ said to Joanna.
Joanna was combing her hair, but she went over the to bed and sat next to him and looked with him at the Port Charles Gazette.
"Lucky juvenile," Joanna said. "Who could have gotten killed."
When they got to the Outback, Jason and Maureen were already there, talking to Jerry Jacks, the owner.
"Jerry Jacks was saying maybe you could look at his brother's company," Jason told AJ, after Jerry Jacks had sat them down.
"You think Jax would ever hire me?" A.J. asked.
"You never know until you try," Jason said.
"That idea Skye had about everybody moving in," Joanna said, after they sat down. "Maybe it's not practical now. But there was some sense in it."
"No," AJ said. "You'd hate it."
"It would be different there," Joanna said. "Skye sort of gave me that picture - my kids, me, Maureen, let's say, just for sake of argument. We outnumber them. Sean, even."
"You're putting yourself in the same house with Sean," Jason said to Joanna.
"It's a big house."
"No house is that big," AJ said.
"The thing is, there you don't have the breakdown, the disowning, all that horrible stuff," Joanna said. "I'm afraid of feeling bad for you, A.J., for that and feeling like I made this big hole in your life."
"You don't make that hole," AJ said. "They do."
"It is what they say they want," Maureen said. "For everyone to move in. Isn't it? It's what they claim to want. So if they get it, can they really complain?"
"They won't complain and they'll accept you," AJ said. "But at the same time, that doesn't mean they won't make your life difficult."
"What about the dilution factor?" Maureen asked. "Grandfather can only try to run so many people's lives at a time. Skye did see something of - kids around would mellow grandfather out. He's not hard on Michael is he?"
"Not yet," AJ said.
"Kurt and Heather aren't his own grandchildren, so they don't have to be perfect. Skye seemed to think he wouldn't try to run their lives, but he'd play with them."
"I don't want them to take up any burden of grandfather's behavior and neither do you," AJ said.
"But are you certain it would be a burden?" Joanna fiddled with a fork. "Maybe he would be giving towards them. Give them advice, and letting them run with it."
"Like he should for his own grandchildren and great grandchildren?" AJ asked, rhetorically.
"Yeah, he's really got things backwards," Jason observed.
"Say we had our own living room, kitchen?" Maureen said. "Would they accept that? That way we don't run into them as much. But we're there."
"That's a thought," Jason said. "Hire our own assistants even. That would be tough for the rest of the family to oppose. They would probably try, though, say it wasn't necessary and realize it was to get away from them - yet Mom and Dad at least might understand that."
"We don't have to decide right now," Maureen said. "Just some thoughts."
"I can see the beauty in the idea of descending upon them," Jason said. "We need Sean and even Wylie, maybe. Maybe we can talk a few nurses into moving in, too."
"How about a few homeless people?" AJ said.
"Thank you for backing me up," Maureen said to Jason, later, when they were alone.
"Now to see if you really are willing to act on it," he said, grinning.
"What are you up to?" Maureen asked.
"Spend the night with me," he said. "But at my place."
Maureen tilted her head up. "No problem," she said.
"Are you sure?"
"Am I going to turn down a night with you? Not likely."
"At your place maybe, but at mine?"
"You knew I would."
"I love you," he said.
She just smiled.
They arrived at the Quartermaine mansion, and were able to go up to his room without running into any of his ancestors or collateral relatives.
"So far, so good," Maureen said. "This backs up what Joanna told me. You can come in and out at will."
He closed the door and locked it. "I don't have to lock it, really," he said. "Nobody comes up here. But I know you won't feel like that's true, at first."
"Thank you for doing it," Maureen said. "You tend to be very considerate."
"Of you, I am."
"Oh, go on," she said, putting her arms around him.
He smiled, and kissed her, slowly, as he pushed her farther into the room.
"You really intend to make love to me under your parents roof?" she asked, giggling.
"Anywhere," he said. "You can see if you're comfortable in this house. If you're not, we'll know we can abandon that idea."
"Yeah," she smiled. They lay down on his bed. Soon, she forgot where she was anyway.