During the next several weeks, the weekly Fairfax, Virginia, newspaper printed three articles all with the byline of Ronnie Bowers. The first announced that a new coach, Ian Friedman, was joining the staff at the Fairfax Valley Ice Arena.
As Tovah had explained to Laurel and Joan, "His elderly grandparents still live in the area and he and his fiancée have been talking about moving closer to them so he can help out. I am hoping you will give him a chance to coach Paige and Jade."
"He does seem to know what he is doing," Laurel observed. "And, his skater did quite well at Nationals."
"Jade does seem to get along with him," Joan added thoughtfully.
"And, I assume he will pass Penelope's scrutiny," Tovah grinned. "I've already warned him about her."
"You will be working with Ian to ease the transition, won't you?" Joan worried.
"Of course!" Tovah quickly assured her. "I'm not going to just abandon my two best students!"
The second article was a story on the upcoming Spring Show at the Fairfax Valley Ice Arena. The pictures accompanying the story included a group shot of the beginning level skaters who would be participating, as well as a picture of the featured guest skater who would be joining them from Chicago - Miss Jade Larson. Attendance at the three performances of the show far exceeded expectations, and the Fairfax Valley Ice Skating Club was suddenly in the black for the first time in several years.
As Brooke Smithfield observed, "A little fresh blood can sometimes work wonders!"
The third article announced the formation of a new Public Relations firm in the Fairfax area – R & J Productions. JJ had finally decided that the time had come for her to return to her first love. As she explained to Hotch when she handed him her resignation, "With one child already and another on the way (she unconsciously stroked her barely visible baby bump) Will and I decided that it was time that one of us had a job that didn't constantly put us into life threatening situations. And when Ronnie, my old friend from college, approached me with the proposal, I just couldn't say 'No'."
The article went on to tell how the new firm was already handling public relations for A & L Hospitality - A hotel group which owned five (soon to be six) Sleepaway Inns and Suites with locations in Houston, Austin, College Station, and (opening soon) Fairfax, Virginia.
As Hotch later complained to Rossi, "I lost another team member and again I have no one to blame but myself. If I hadn't married such a dynamic woman – "
"If you hadn't married that dynamic woman, you and Jack would still be sitting in that drab apartment you used to live in eating take-out," Rossi pointed out. "And right about now both of you would be pretty miserable."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"Mom, are you busy?" It was late afternoon, and Jack and Paige had just returned home from their yoga class when Jack walked into the kitchen where Laurel was sitting at the table examining stacks of papers and punching numbers into a calculator.
"Not terribly," she replied looking up. "I'm just going over proposals from some vendors Allison and I are thinking of using for the new Fairfax location. What's up?"
Jack took his time as he pulled out a chair and slowly sat down.
"Is something wrong?" Laurel asked, concerned.
"No, not really," he told her slowly. "It's just that – Iwanttoquitplayingsoccer." It all came out in a rush.
"Whoa – Whoa – Slow down," Laurel told him. "You don't want to play soccer any more? Any particular reason?"
"It's not fun anymore and I don't enjoy it," Jack complained. "And, it's not like I am going to get a college scholarship from it or anything. Plus, I need the time to study. I need to bring my grades up if I am going to get into a good college." He looked imploringly at Laurel.
"I can understand all that," she replied. "But, I have one question for you – This isn't because of Paige and her skating, is it? Because, if it is, I can assure you that handling both of your sports is definitely not a problem."
"Oh No - It's not that," Jack quickly assured her. "Although, if I'm not playing soccer, maybe I can help out more with getting Paige back and forth to the rink and everything."
"Okay," Laurel told him. "But, if you are going to quit the team, you need to speak with your coach. Give him some advance notice so he can line up someone to take your place on the field. You don't want to just walk away and leave him in a lurch. After all, you may need a recommendation from him when you apply to colleges."
"I can do that," Jack declared. "But, Dad?"
"I'll talk with your father," Laurel promised him. "I don't think there will be any problem there. Especially when I explain to him that you are already thinking about what it is going to take for you to get into a good college."
"Thanks, Mom!" Jack breathed a sigh of relief.
He glanced at the piles of papers lying on the table. "Can I ask you something?" he said.
"What do you have in mind?" Laurel was curious.
"Are you rich?" Jack asked. "I mean, I know that you helped Aunt Tovah get that job with the architectural firm because you and Allison are building that hotel. And I know that you gave JJ and her friend their start in their business, and that you helped buy this house, and that you pay all of Paige's skating bills and everything, but are you rich?"
"I didn't get Aunt Tovah her job, I just recommended her for it," Laurel corrected Jack. "I simply told the architect we were working with on remodeling the building that I knew of a student who was about to graduate and was looking for an internship. I also pointed out that several universities in the area are planning on expanding their ice rinks in the near future and that this particular student had extensive, first-hand knowledge of ice rinks. And, as far as JJ and her partner are concerned, I have seen first hand what JJ can do and I wanted her expertise for the Inns."
"Now, as for being rich, there are many different definitions of that," Laurel continued slowly. "People can be rich with money, with family, with friends, lots of ways. However, if you are asking whether I have money in the bank, the answer is 'Yes'. I do have money in the bank and several other places as well. Enough that you and Paige and Sophia won't have to worry about paying for college. Is that what you wanted to know?"
"Yes!" Jack replied. "That's what I was wondering about."