5 Peppermint Grove by Michelle Jackson

right things where Lydia was concerned. She dearly hoped that she had done enough because, even though Lydia was smitten by her policeman, she had made it quite clear that she still had deep feelings for Michael. If Michael were to return to Dublin permanently it really would make a wonderful start to the New Year. She was secretly dreading the drive to Dublin airport that she would be making very soon with Ruth. Although Ruth’s circumstances for leaving the country were quite different to so many other emigrants who had to flee from poverty and unemployment, Julia wished there was some other way that Ruth could untangle herself from Ian.
    She parked at Terminal Two which she thought resembled the Starship Enterprise . It was positioned exactly where the lake and sculpted snowmen used to be on the drive to Terminal One. So much had changed and yet now again people were coming to pick up loved ones who were making the journey home for Christmas like so many of the Irish Diaspora had done for decades.
    The vast arrivals hall was airy, with glass up to the sky. Christmas trees and baubles lined the pillars. Behind the barriers anxious families and friends waited to see a glimpse of their loved ones pass through the sliding doors. One chap leaned against the pillar adorned with antlers and a large bunch of roses. Some families had made banners and had come en masse. Others were twitching nervously with one eye on the arrivals screen and another on their watch.
    Julia could feel her own heart beat heavily in her chest as she saw that the flight from London Heathrow had landed. After almost two years she would see her brother again. His reasons for leaving Ireland had been for self-promotion and adventure, like so many that left in the mid-noughties. But there was a difference now as those who had left in the last two years were doing so because they felt they had no choice. Her eyes welled up as she saw a man greet his wife and three small children who were wearing Santa hats and making the most of the occasion. It must be so terrible to have to leave your home and family to make a living, she thought.
    But her spirits lifted as her brother’s tall frame came into view. His hairline had receded a little but his face was fresh and he was fitter than the last time she had seen him. He wrapped his arms around her warmly and kissed her on the cheek. Julia held him close and for a moment felt her father’s presence. Michael was becoming more like him with the years and somehow it was a source of comfort now for Julia.
    “Hey, sis, thanks for coming to take me home,” he grinned.
    “I wouldn’t expect you to get a taxi!” She smiled back at him. “But depending on what you’ve bought me you might be getting one back here next week.”
    Michael ran his fingers through her hair playfully.
    “I’ve missed you and your wit – sounding more like Dad every day!”
    “I was just thinking how much you’re getting to look like him.”
    “I’m not sure whether to take that as a compliment or not,” he laughed.
    They loaded up his bags into the car and waited in line behind dozens of cars anxious to take their cargo of loved ones home for Christmas.
    “How’s Mum?”
    “Probably playing bridge or talking to one of her bridge friends. But there is a slim chance she is cooking the dinner that she said she was preparing for you!”
    “What’s with all this bridge? She was only learning that a couple of years ago.”
    “Well, it’s taken over her life!” Julia said with a sigh. “In some way it’s the best thing ever because it’s given her a wonderful lease of life. She’s going off to Warwickshire in the New Year to play in some bridge festival and she was in Cologne as you know a couple of weeks ago.”
    Michael shook his head. “Who ever would have thought? I’m sure Dad must be laughing on the other side!”
    “It’s such a pity that she wouldn’t ever travel with him but then he got to do all his travelling