5 Peppermint Grove (4 page)

Chapter Four

Michael woke in a sweat. The humidity from outside had seeped through the open window and left him parched. It was six o’clock and sweltering hot – like most mornings in Singapore but especially during this time of year. He hit the switch on his air-con – the room would resemble a freezer in ten minutes. Lydia came into his head again. This was the fourth morning in a row that she had done so. It was six years since he had let her go – so why was she such a hauntingly permanent fixture in his life? Their history had started with a blind date – organised by Julia of course. It was while Julia and Lydia were in college together in UCD and Lydia complained that she wanted a bit of excitement in her life. Lydia being the complete opposite of Michael, Julia felt that he would show her friend how to have a good time but that there would be no love lost. She was surprised at how well the two hit it off and they became besotted with each other for six months – which was something of a record by Michael’s standards.

However,
Lydia was only twenty-one and Michael twenty-six and the passion that Michael was feeling scared him and he finished with her abruptly. It wasn’t until four years later when she was dating a fellow apprentice in KBMD that Michael started to ask about Lydia again. Julia was reluctant this time and grudgingly set up a meeting. The apprentice got the flick and Michael and Lydia settled down to a tempestuous relationship that lasted four years. Everyone thought that they would soon announce their engagement and Michael was on the verge of proposing when he had a moment of weakness with a nurse in Buck Mulligan’s at his friend’s birthday party. One of his friends told his girlfriend who felt it her duty to spread the wicked news of his deed. If Michael had denied it Lydia would have been happy to believe him. But he told her that he did snog the nurse and that he didn’t know her name and that it didn’t mean anything. Lydia was distraught and worried that she could never trust him again. No amount of pleading and begging on his part would convince her otherwise. She broke off the relationship and went out that weekend with her friends – when she bumped into Michael at another venue on Lesson Street she saw him do it again and this time with her own eyes. Even Michael couldn’t recall what the girl looked like – he was more upset than he would ever admit to a soul about the break-up of his relationship with Lydia and was trying to get comfort wherever. Lydia couldn’t get over seeing him in the arms of another woman and insisted that she would never take him back. Over the next few months Michael spent every weekend with a different girl. Julia did whatever she could to take Lydia’s mind off her brother but she knew how much she was hurt.

When Michael announced that he was leaving for
Singapore, Julia told Lydia very gently one day and was amazed at how she took the news with no emotion or reaction. Lydia had shut him off and, as far as Julia was concerned and even though she knew they had corresponded briefly through Facebook, there was no hope they would ever be an item again. She had made her views perfectly clear to Michael but this only made him think of Lydia all the more.

“You always want what you cannot have!” Julia had berated him.

Michael realised that she was correct but at certain times of the year – especially coming up to Christmas – he thought of her even more.

Although it didn’t feel very Christmassy as the beads of sweat fell from his brow in
Singapore.

Ruth needed to feel good about the massive move that she might make. She wondered what her mother’s opinion might be. Angela had spoken very little about the time she had spent in Perth when her brother Kevin was a little boy. Ruth knew that her father had loved Australia and only came back to Dublin after she was born. It was a chapter in her family’s life that she had never been interested in finding out about – until now.

Alone in her apartment on a dark and windy November evening she decided to surf the Internet and see what her new home might look like if she was successful in her interview. Google Images was the best place to start and she typed the word ‘
Perth’ into the search engine. Immediately dozens of images sprang up of a glittering skyline with skyscrapers reflected on the Swan River. An image of a girl and a bicycle parked at the water’s edge with a perfect blue sky and the backdrop of the towers made her smile. She used to cycle as a little girl – it made her feel free and like all children she loved it. She could see herself living a healthy lifestyle in the sunshine with great hope for the future. It wasn’t as if she would be leaving a lot behind – at the moment there were very few positives in her life. She wondered if Ian would be upset about her leaving but, ultimately, apart from the odd night that he spent at her apartment and the few occasions that they met in discreet locations, his life wouldn’t change much. Realising this had had a massive impact on her self-esteem and made her feel like a shadow – an invisible partner in a relationship that was unbalanced and going nowhere.

She could feel a choking sensation in her throat and decided to press on and look at more images to take away these feelings. She came across a postcard image of rocks standing erect on what looked like a massive desert. They were shaped like bishops’ mitres, a stark contrast to the vibrant blue of the sky behind. She hovered the cursor over them and found out that they were called ‘pinnacle rocks’. She would love to see them. They were unlike any natural phenomenon in
Ireland. It made her wonder what other wonderful things she would see in this new continent that was so far away from her home.

She flicked through more images. The beaches were stunning with long stretches of white sand contrasted against the deep blue and aquamarine hues of the
Indian Ocean. Cottesloe Beach, whale-watching, zoos filled with marsupials were all things to be explored in Australia and she felt butterflies flit in her stomach. This was the fresh start that she needed. And as the wind howled outside her window she hoped and wished that she would be offered the job in Perth. She was ready to take on a fresh start and an adventure that would bring untold surprises

Chapter Five

Julia was concerned about Odette – she hadn’t been herself at all on Friday. At least she would be able to observe her sister later when she went to Sunday lunch in Malahide.

Odette and her husband lived in Seapark – a well-located comfortable family home close to the beautiful suburban village. It was one of the older developments but Odette and Craig had gutted their house and turned it into a haven stylish enough for the pages of a magazine. Craig hadn’t gone wild investing in shares during the boom but their refurbishment had put them back to square one with their mortgage and they had bought an investment apartment in Swords that was now difficult to let. At the time Odette felt that they were missing the boat as they watched their friends leaving the estate and moving to fancier new housing developments that cost millions of euros but she was grateful now as their repayments remained hefty each month and he was concerned about losing his job.

Julia jumped into her Audi and put the bottles of wine and chocolates on the passenger seat. She had tried to coax her mother to join her but she was shopping for a new case for her travels to Cologne.

Granddad had turned down her offer of a lift to Odette’s. “Your grandmother always made such a fuss on Sundays that now I like to have them to myself!” he assured Julia as she walked out the door.

As she pulled up in front of the house, she saw a Mercedes convertible parked there. It could mean only one thing and she hoped that the owner would not be staying for lunch.

The silhouette of a tall broad figure filled the glass panels. Dylan answered the door. He leaned forward, expecting a peck on his
cheek, but an air-kiss was as much as he got.

“Julia, how nice to see you again!” he said in cool low tone.

“I didn’t know that you were going to be here!” she exclaimed, taking off her coat and placing it at the end of the banisters.

“That’s a lovely welcome for your brother-in-law!”

“You are my sister’s brother-in-law but
we
, I am pleased to say, are not related!”

“Better put the smile on before we go in to the Brady Bunch,” Dylan quipped. “They’re in the front room.”

How Craig’s brother infuriated Julia! He was always so smart and chirpy in such a condescending manner. Odette assured her that he didn’t behave this way normally and it was an effect that Julia had on him.

Odette unloaded the clean cutlery and crockery from the dishwasher. She felt so lonely in the kitchen now. Craig was upstairs putting the children to bed. She would never have believed that it was possible to feel lonely in a house with a husband and two beautiful children – but she did. She wasn’t able to speak with Craig about things that mattered any more. He was usually grumpy when he came in from work. The presence of her sister and his brother earlier had diverted the discomfort between them for a while but when they left the peculiar ennui that had settled between husband and wife for the past two years had returned.

She wanted another baby – she was sure that she did. However, she was well aware that she needed to be having sex in order for that to happen. The truth was that Craig hadn’t touched her once over the last six months.

It was probably her fault to start – her way of punishing him for not wanting a baby. She would never have believed that she would use sex as a weapon – she had read about women doing it in
Cosmopolitan
and similar magazines and she had laughed, thinking she would never be like that. She tried to think back to when her life had become humdrum. Why couldn’t she be happy? She had so much to be thankful for and yet she was miserable. Maybe it was the long hours that Craig worked – maybe it was the competition of the mothers at the school – maybe it was the fact that she had never travelled or had adventure in her life. She had never wanted adventure but now she was feeling unchallenged and stifled by the fact that the only sense of self-worth she got was from her children’s spelling-test results and participation in activities. Another baby would keep her busy and happy for now. Julia couldn’t understand – she was in a totally different world. Odette wished that she herself was as focused and self-assured.

Carol settled down for her first game of the evening. She liked this time of the day. Several Australian bridge players who were early risers liked an online game after breakfast. The weather sounded divine – especially in comparison to the dark Dublin evenings. Bob was on and so was Helen. It was comforting to have a nice game with players who were like-minded and of similar ability. Suddenly she got a message from Greta in Monaghan. Greta was recently widowed so Carol liked to lend her a sympathetic ear – or the online equivalent. Greta lived alone but had a grown-up daughter and two sons who seemed to be in her house often. She and Carol shared a love of crime novels and often compared notes and suggested new titles. She had never actually spoken to Greta but they corresponded while playing bridge and she often made a new table to accommodate Greta.

Julia entered the living room and started to speak but her mother interrupted.

“I’m just playing out this hand, dear – would you put the kettle on and I’ll be in to the kitchen when we’re finished here.”

It was hopeless. Julia had to control her tongue.

Suddenly Carol’s phone bleeped.

“Can you check that message for me, Julia, please – I’m expecting word from Treasa – she wants me to make up a table with her.”

Julia read the message aloud: “Ready in ten mins – do you have Ita’s number? Will she play too?”

“Tell her I have to finish up here first – to give me twenty minutes and then can you business-card Ita’s number to Treasa, please?”

Julia watched her mother flip the cards on her screen and suddenly wanted to laugh. She texted the numbers and messages and left without saying a word. Her mother didn’t look up from the screen.

She went into the room where her grandfather slept and worked and watched TV. He was dozing in his armchair and the TV was blaring in the background. His work bench was covered with tiny springs and the skeletons of dozens of watches. The fine craft tools were lined up in a row along the edge of the table and the lamp that he used to see the finer details of his work was left on.

Julia took a rug and placed it over his legs. There was no point waking him. She turned off the TV and went back into the kitchen. Dylan was on her mind. He managed to irritate her like nobody else. Today he had touched her Achilles’ heel – he had no idea how the travel business worked but insisted on commenting on the direction people were taking with their holiday plans. Odette said that he only wanted to show he was interested in her work but Julia felt as though he was teasing. She couldn’t say it to her mother because she wouldn’t listen – she couldn’t explain to anyone – this was a war she would have to wage on her own with nobody else understanding how much he annoyed her.

It was
eleven o’clock and time for bed with a good book.

Carol was elated after trashing the competition around her all night. She said goodbye to Treasa and shut down her laptop. Her watch read two o’clock in the morning and she realised that she had forgotten to speak with Julia. She would check and see how her daughter was in the morning. If only she could talk to Julia the way that she spoke to Odette – even Michael over in Singapore understood her needs better. But Julia was a good daughter and it was only out of concern that she wanted her mother to behave differently.