5 Peppermint Grove

by Jackson, Michelle

  “Australia!” she exclaimed boldly.

  “You’re joking!” he whispered.

  “No, I’m not – I’ve got a job with Tourism Ireland – it’s a two-year contract for starters but I’ll see how it goes.”

  “But why Australia?”

  “Because that’s where the job is!” she said in a very matter-of-fact tone.

  “But what about us?”

  Ruth fell back from her position of power and onto his shoulder again. She didn’t have an answer. She knew what she wanted to say: ‘Come with me – leave your wife – get a job with Qantas.’ But the truth was she hadn’t a clue about their future and from the tone in his voice he hadn’t either. He would never leave his children. But sometimes Ruth wondered if the children were just a lame excuse and their relationship only worked on this illicit basis.

  “Come on, the curry is waiting,” she said as she slipped out from the sheets and pulled her dressing gown over her shoulders. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

  Ian didn’t join her for at least fifteen minutes. He took a shower before dressing and coming to where she sat at the kitchen table.

  Ruth had never known him to be so silent. He always had an answer for everything but this time she had done it – she had opened the can and the worms were crawling and wincing their way all over the pair of them.

  Craig slammed the front door shut. He rubbed the nape of his neck and put his laptop case onto the ground. He wondered why his brother was calling unannounced. It was not like him and especially this late in the evening.

  Odette jumped up when he entered the living room.

  “Hey, you’re extra late – did you have dinner?”

  “Yeah, sorry, I should have told you that I ate in work. How’s it going, Dylan? What has you here at this hour?”

  “Just dropping by!” he replied, nodding his head and staring at his brother.

  “Well, I’m off to bed – goodnight, Dylan,” Odette said, giving her brother-in-law a swift kiss on the cheek before she left the room.

  Craig sat heavily on the couch and let out a loud sigh. “I’ve got to get out of this job – it’s killing me.”

  Dylan said nothing. Craig did seem to be under extreme pressure lately but that still didn’t explain what he had seen earlier.

  “What’s up with you?” Craig asked.

  Dylan wanted to come out and say why he was there but decided to fish around first and try to draw out some information from his brother.

  “I saw your car outside the Coachman’s Inn earlier – did you go for a pint?”

  “You should have rung and you could have joined me.”

  The casual way that his brother suggested this surprised Dylan. He had expected a different reaction. But Dylan had seen it with his own eyes. There was no doubting that he had been engrossed in a long and lingering kiss with a woman – whoever she was.

  “On your own, were you?”

  “No, there was a crowd from the office – one of our best is leaving. She’s moving to Abu Dhabi – her husband hasn’t worked in over a year and they cannot afford to pay their mortgage. They have no children so are hoping to make a fresh start in the Middle East.” Craig shook his head. “It’s going to get much worse before it gets better, you know – I can feel it. The figures don’t add up and when ordinary hardworking decent couples are being forced to leave it makes you wonder who is going to be left in the country!”

  Dylan was so relieved that the kiss he had seen was more than likely an over-the-top goodbye and not the seeds of a heated affair – that was providing of course the woman that he was kissing was the woman who was emigrating. Although he wasn’t positive, he now had a hunch that that was all it was. He would, however, keep a closer eye on his brother. He had done right not accusing him straight out and would let it lie for the moment.

  Chapter Seven

  Angela had been here before. She stirred the teabags in the pot and put the lid on.

  “And when did you decide to move to Australia?” she asked her daughter.

  “Julia told me about the job. I guess I need a change of environment. I was working with Oliver too long.”

  “He wasn’t the worst boss in the world.”

  “You didn’t have to work with him, Mum. That job was getting me down. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure that I want to live in Australia but I’ve fallen into a rut – surely you can see that?”

  Angela didn’t argue. “But to move all the way to Australia! Could you not find a job here?”

  “It’s a good opportunity. Things have slowed down so badly in Dublin I don’t know where I would get a job at the moment. I thought you of all people would like the idea of me living in Australia – I mean, you spent time down there.”

  “And I came home before I had you. There was a reason for that. Australia’s very different from Ireland and I’m not sure that you’ll like it.”

  “Well, maybe I should try – I won’t know unless I do.”

  Angela could feel her old self in her daughter’s words. But her motives for moving to Australia were not entirely the same.

  “I was married to your father and things were bleak in the seventies. We had to commit to staying two years in Australia before we were granted the cheap £10 passage fares but, even so, if it wasn’t for your father we would have come back a lot sooner. It’s a very chauvinistic society, Ruth – it’s not a country for a young girl to go to on her own.”

  And the more her mother spoke against the move, the more Ruth defended her decision to go. If her mother knew about Ian, she would have her at Dublin airport before she could pack a suitcase. Her mother, however, was seeing the situation from her own experience entirely and couldn’t understand what it was like to be out of work and the sense of hopelessness that was sitting on Dublin like a gauze.

  Angela wiped her brow and stared at the unpoured pot of tea.

  “I suppose I’m just feeling a bit shocked, that’s all. I thought that after your younger brother got married I had you all reared and settled. You were the least likely of my children to up and leave and now it looks as if Kevin is going to Canada.”

  Ruth put her hand up to her mouth. This was news and, although it was difficult for Angela to see her grandchildren in Kerry, at least they were in the same country. Canada might not be as far away as Australia but it could be expensive and difficult to get there.

  “I had no idea – when did he decide this?”

  Angela took a sharp intake of breath. “He called last night – heaven help me but what more bad news will I get? It always comes in threes.”

  Ruth put her hand on her mother’s and could feel the dread and sorrow. There was no easy way for her to deal with the loss of her children to another country and Kevin had three small children who were likely to become settled beyond the point of return.

  “It’s like déjà vu, Ruth,” Angela said with a shake of her head. “Kevin was doing so well but when they shut that factory in Tralee and he was made redundant I knew it was complete disaster. You see, Kevin invested the profits from the sale of his house in Dublin into three apartments and he used the collateral from his house in Kerry to complete the deals. He’s up to his eyes in debt and, without job or tenants to pay his mortgages, is left with no choice.”

  Ruth had no idea that her brother had invested in property and felt badly for him. He was a specialised engineer whose skills were so sought after that he earned a good wage but had obviously invested poorly because of the cheap credit and mortgages that were being handed out.

  “If only he had kept his house in Dublin and rented in Kerry he would be able to come back and do something here. But he can’t get out of paying for those blasted apartments and the bank is giving him hell. I swear I’m so worried about him – the way he’s been talking . . .”

  Ruth could see that the situation was bleak and her mother was not giving her the entire story.

  “So when is he going?”

  “As soon as
his visa comes through . . .”

  “But if he leaves like this he won’t be able to come back.”

  Angela lowered her head and covered her face with the palms of her hands.

  Ruth regretted what she had said but knew it to be the truth.

  Lydia was shocked when the email arrived. It had been a year since she’d had any contact with Michael and she had managed to stop thinking about him every day, the way that she used to. Anyway, she was very happy with Peter and for the first time since she finished with Michael felt that she had met someone that she could spend the rest of her life with. It was only early days but something felt very right about Peter – he made her feel safe and secure – protected in a way that she had never felt with Michael. At this stage in her life she needed a life partner – she was keen to settle down and start a family. She contemplated deleting the email but curiosity got the better of her and she opened it. Typically he started by joking about her deleting him from Facebook – he sounded in good form.

  But the real point of the email was a request to meet and that might just be asking too much. It was strange that he should contact her just before she was meeting Julia. She looked at her diary. In two days she was meeting his sister and she would find out more – she definitely wouldn’t answer Michael’s mail before speaking with Julia.

  Angela returned to the kitchen when her daughter was gone. She put her hand onto her stomach where she felt a pain but she knew that there was nothing she could take to relieve it. Emotional pain was more severe for Angela than any physical ailments. History was repeating itself and there was nothing she could do to stop her son and his family from leaving the hopeless situation they had found themselves in. But the news of Ruth’s departure was proving too much to take. She had seen her own brother and sister off at Dublin Port in the 1960s and knew then that at some stage she might well be on the same boat. Angela had tried several positions to ease the burden on the family but when her husband Fred lost his job in 1970 she had agreed to take the £10 fare to Perth. The crossing was bearable and they were fortunate to have calm seas but the sorrow of seeing her heartbroken mother standing at the harbour as she waved goodbye was etched in her memory for the duration of the long trip. Angela felt differently to so many of the other young emigrants who took to their bunks each night with excitement and anticipation of the future and the opportunities that it might bring. All Angela felt was shame and a horrid sense of sadness that yet again a generation of young Irishmen and women would have to leave their homes and their country forever.

  The city of Perth was not as she had expected and the streets were most definitely not paved with gold. They were, however, filled with fast cars imported from America and many of the young men coming from Europe found speeding along the freeways irresistible – and paid for it with their lives. It became apparent very quickly that jobs were abundant for young men who were happy to earn a good wage in compensation for being away from their families. Angela found herself alone for several nights each week and clung to the company of other European emigrant women who mostly came from England, Scotland and Wales.

  The arrival of Kevin into the world after eighteen months of living in Australia brought Angela the much-needed family that helped fill the hole left by the absence of her mother and siblings. This new bundle of joy offered hope and the possibility of settling in this new land permanently. But as Kevin grew she realised that she missed her mother and Ireland even more and she didn’t want her son to grow up speaking with an Australian accent.

  Her husband became more settled with his mix of new friends from around the world and he felt a great kinship with the Australian men that he worked and socialised with. For Angela, however, she found the company of some more desirable than others and her marriage was tested in more ways than she could ever have imagined. Australian society was even more conservative and backward than Ireland in the way that men and women were expected to mix. Then there was the secret that every so often came back to haunt her since – usually in sleep.

  As she found the four walls of her house close in on her when she discovered that she was pregnant again, she gave her husband an ultimatum. This baby was going to be born on Irish soil and her husband could come home with her or stay in Australia – the choice was his. She set about arranging her passage before her husband could discuss it further and, although she did make the long journey home on her own, he followed six months later and landed a job in the Guinness factory to his wife’s joy. They secured a house in Milltown and moved to Sutton when Ruth was eight. Life had been good for Angela since then and she had tried to block out the memory of the time she had spent in Perth.

  The irony that her daughter would now be living in the same city that she herself had fled thirty-five years before was too much to take. She made herself a cup of tea and brought it heavy-handedly to bed. She would tell Fred the news in the morning.

  Chapter Eight

  Lydia arrived first at Salamanca restaurant. She hadn’t been before but wasn’t surprised that she liked it instantly. Julia had great taste and had told her to try it so Lydia knew that if Julia liked it she would like it too. The waiter led her over to a wooden chair padded with beautiful brocade. She had an excellent view of Trinity Street and the shoppers and workers going about their business. She had only poured a glass of water when Julia came through the door wearing a red wool military-style coat and knee-high riding boots. As usual her hair was shining and her eyes bright with anticipation.

  Lydia stood up and kissed her friend’s cheek.

  “Great to see you, you look fabulous as usual!”

  “Ah thank you, Lydia, you’re like a breath of fresh air! And I love that colour on you, what is it, electric blue?”

  Lydia nodded. “Yes, would you believe Peter bought it for me?”

  “A man with good taste in clothes?” Julia pried.

  “Yes, and he’s a great cook too!”

  “Sounds like a keeper? But it is early days.”

  Lydia’s eyes widened and, as she described her new lover, they shone and danced in her head.

  “Peter is everything I ever wanted in a man and more. He’s thoughtful, considerate and so accomplished. Did I tell you he was in the trials for the Olympics when he was in his twenties – he’s a marvellous swimmer.”

  Julia swallowed hard. Michael had certainly given himself a challenge but Julia had seen many shining halos slip. She would watch and listen but say very little – she knew how to gauge her friend’s reactions.

  They shared tapas and red wine and updated each other on the health and well-being of their family and mutual friends. Lydia was abuzz with her plans for Christmas and Peter was mentioned in them all.

  “And what about you?” Lydia asked. “Is there any nice man on the horizon for you?”

  With a roll of her eyes Julia gave her usual answer and explained how busy she was with her work and looking after her mother and grandfather.

  “Ah, come on!” Lydia urged. “Don’t you want to meet someone nice and maybe have a family?”

  Why did friends always want you to want the same things that they did, Julia pondered. She never felt a need – in fact, she always liked to be a little bit outside the trends and doing her own thing. Yet here she was again, listening to a friend falling in love and dreaming of engagement rings and wedding dresses. In Lydia’s case she was probably even considering nursery paint!

  “I have a family and to be honest at the moment I’m a little concerned about Odette – she seems to have hit a wall. She could do with a distraction or some sort of interest.”

  “What about exercise? I’m going to boot camp on the nights that I don’t meet Peter and I feel great after it.”

  Julia didn’t want to shoot down her friend’s suggestion but she didn’t think Odette was going to suddenly become sporty at this stage.

  “I’ll suggest it to her,” she said with a smile.

  “She could come with me. I go to a great camp i
n Marino – it’s not that far from Malahide.”

  Lydia was bursting with energy and enthusiasm for life and Julia was wondering if she should forget about bringing Michael up in the conversation.

  She decided to give it a go.

  “Michael is trying to get leave for Christmas.”

  “That would be nice for your mum,” Lydia chirped. “Actually, he sent me an email only the other day – he sounds in good form!”

  Julia was perturbed by Lydia’s reaction. She was obviously so engrossed in her life that she didn’t care about her old lover contacting her.

  “What did he say?”

  Lydia took a piece of chorizo on her fork and dipped it into the tomato dressing before slipping it into her mouth.

  “Oh, nothing much – mentioned that he was coming home in December – but early December, I think?”

  “He’s trying to get back for Christmas now – Mum is going away with her bridge club friends early December.”

  Lydia chuckled. “She’s great, Julia – I wish my mum would take a leaf out of her book!”

  Julia was keen to steer the conversation back to her brother’s email. “Did Michael say anything else?”

  “He wants to meet up but I don’t think that’s a good idea – anyway, I am probably going to be very busy – Peter’s family is in Waterford and I’ll have to spend time with him down there.”

  Julia swallowed. This was serious – Peter was making plans for Christmas already.

  “That’s nice, that he wants you to meet his parents.”

  “Oh, I met them already – they’re just lovely people. I felt like they were my own family.” Lydia prodded a lump of goat’s cheese with her fork. “I’d like to answer Michael’s email but I’m not sure what to say.”

  “Well, what do you feel like saying?”

  Lydia sighed loudly. “I can’t deny that I still have feelings for him, Julia – he was the big love of my life. But he hurt me so much that I don’t think the love I felt could compensate for the pain that he caused me when we broke up.”