Chapter 7 Darling
SEVEN
Darling
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THE HOUSE WAS UNUSUALLY quiet and still. The production crew was out by the forest shooting a scene and the remaining cast and crew were relaxing or rehearsing out on the sunny terrace.
Passing through the kitchen to grab a handful of berries, I ran into Matt... sans Susie.
With a glass of ice water in his hand and a damp washcloth in the other, he grunted a salutation as he passed me by.
“Matt?” I said, perturbed by his cold greeting.
“Huh?” he said, turning to me as if he’d not seen me at all.
“Is there something wrong? Have I done something to offend you?”
“No. Of course not.”
“You passed right by me without saying a word.”
“Oh, Darling. I’m so sorry. It’s not you.”
Susie. Surely it was Susie who was on his mind. Was that who the ice water and washcloth were for? To cool her heated brow? To quench her exhausted thirst?
“Kenneth has returned home,” he said, his brow creased with concern.
“Oh?” I looked at the ice water and washcloth.
He held the items up. “He’s not feeling very well. He has a slight fever.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“I’m sure he’d be happy to see you.”
As Matt’s older brother, he’d had little interest in the little girl I’d been. But he’d always been kind and as I’d grown older, he’d seemed to grow fond of me.
“It would be my pleasure to go up and see him.”
“He’s in the room two doors down from mine.” He held the ice water and washcloth out to me. “Would you mind bringing him these? I promised Susie we’d go for a bike ride along the riverbank.”
Oh. I swallowed my dismay. While I was more than happy to go up and tend to Kenneth, the reason behind the request left a bitter taste in my mouth.
“Have a nice ride,” I managed to say as I took the items from his hands.
His face lit up. “I appreciate it. And I’m sure Kenneth will as well. Tell him that I should be back in an hour or so.”
He left me and I headed up to find his brother. I knocked lightly on the door and nudged it open.
“Kenneth?” I gently called out.
“Yes.”
With silent steps I entered the room and approached the bed. “Matt had another engagement and he asked me to come see you.”
Pale and pasty, Kenneth pressed a tired smile as he looked up at me. “Darling? Is that you? The little girl who came to stay with us so long ago?”
I nodded and smiled.
“Look at you. What a beautiful woman you’ve become.”
“I brought you some ice water and a damp cloth.” I reached out to set the cloth on his forehead. “How does that feel?”
“Wonderful. Very nice.”
“Are you strong enough to sit up and take a sip of water?”
He shifted up onto his elbow and reached out for the glass. “I’m a little feverish, not incapacitated,” he said with a teasing grin. He took a few sips and handed the glass back to me.
“What brings you back home? I thought you were in California with your father for a good while longer.”
He nodded and settled back into the bed.
“Things are falling apart over there. If we don’t move the family business out of California, we’ll lose everything.
” He huffed and closed his eyes. “Even if we do make the move, it might be too late. The very long and strong fingers of the California tax collectors might still come after us even after we leave the Golden State.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “Matt has told me how proud your father is of his vineyard.”
He opened his eyes a moment, then closed them as he grunted and shrugged. “We had it good for a long time. All good things must come to an end, they say. I guess our time has come.”
“Have you spoken to anyone there that can help you?” I said. “An accountant? A lawyer?”
He let out an indignant snort. “Yes and yes. But it’s useless. Over the last few years, we’ve seen new tax laws come into effect that eat away and eat away at our profits until there’s barely any profit to speak of.”
“That’s really too bad.” I patted his shoulder, silently urging him to get some rest.
“I know that I’m in a privileged position,” he went on, his eyes closed, and his lips tight.
“Why should anyone care about my little vineyard? Why should anyone care about my diminishing profits? But we’ve invested a lot of money, a lot of our money into that property with the expectations of returns on that investment. ”
“I understand.”
“And still...” He opened his eyes to ensure I was listening, then closed them again. “The governor there... the governor may as well come out and tell all the business owners that he doesn’t want us setting up shop in his state. He may as well because that’s sure as hell what it looks like.”
“I’m sure he must have a good reason for doing what he does.”
His eyes opened wide, and he glared at me, his lips curled into a cynical grin. “If ever you find one, you let me know.”
Knowing little to nothing about American politics, there wasn’t much I could say.
“It’s not just the taxes that are killing us,” he said as he tried to sit up. “Take the water issue, for example. You have farmers out there... I don’t know if you know this, but California is sometimes called the fruit basket of America. Do you know what that means?”
“They grow a lot of fruits there?”
“Right you are. And what do you think fruit farmers need the most during the growing season?”
I considered his question for a moment. “The sun?”
He let out a sardonic laugh and settled back into his pillow. “Well, at least that is still accessible to everyone for free... at least for the moment.” He laughed some more. “I think they may be working on a way to charge us for that as well.” He looked at me. “What else do they need?”
“Well... water.”
“There you go. They need water. How would you feel if you were trying to water your crops, but you can’t because there’s a water shortage and yet.
..!” He sat up again, his indignation taking over.
“And yet, the once again elected... after an attempt to recall him... finds it more important to flush perfectly good water out into the Pacific Ocean. California is in a severe drought, and yet all the rainwater it gets, the governor flushes back into the ocean. And for what? For what you say?”
“For what?” I felt obliged to say.
“For a fish.”
I scrunched up my face in confusion. “I’m sorry. You lost me there.”
“Ha,” he let out as he lay back down. “Welcome to the club. Plenty of Californians are scratching their heads over that one, too. Oh, don’t get me wrong. There are plenty who are happy to see the little fishies being so well treated. But for agriculturists, it’s just another frustration.”
“But what do the fish have to do with growing fruit?”
“The endangered Delta smelt, that’s what it has to do with. He wants to protect this little fish. Mind you, I have nothing against the little fish, but water that could be going to fruit growers is going to the habitat of this fish, which then flows into the ocean.”
“Oh.”
“Look,” he said as he grabbed the cloth that had fallen from his brow and handed it to me.
His breathing was loud and labored. “I’m not a wildlife specialist or nature expert or anything like that.
How important is this fish? I don’t know.
Is there another way of saving them while helping fruit growers?
I don’t know. But it seems they haven’t tried.
All I know is that there seems to be one policy after another that is bent on making it difficult for virtually every Californian. ”
“You’re getting all worked up over this, Kenneth.” I set my hand on his shoulder. “I think what you need now is a little rest. You came home to rest, didn’t you?”
“Gas prices are through the roof,” he blurted out.
“The highest in all the United States... and by far. Property taxes are a joke. And don’t get me started on the homeless situation.
It’s the highest in the entire country. Turns out the billions meant to help with the homelessness problem suddenly disappeared.
Under the governor’s watch. The corruption is beyond the pail.
I tried, oh don’t get me started on how much I tried to persuade Father to sell the vineyard and leave California. ..”
“I won’t get you started on anything. Please. Put your troubles in California aside and rest.”
He momentarily closed his eyes, but then his eyes popped open to stare up at the ceiling.
“Labor cost are another issue. Minimum wage is what... like twenty-five bucks an hour now? Does he not understand the effects of that?”
“Please, rest,” I said, a firm hand to his shoulder. “Please, Kenneth.”
“Does he not understand?!”
With a loud and angry huff, he sank into the pillow and fell asleep. I left his room and went to work on studying my lines. Poor Kenneth. I’d never been to California, but it seemed like it was once such a golden state, only to become riddled with crime and corruption.