“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.
EIGHT
“If you have a chance, Kenneth would like to see you,” Matt said.
I’d just finished rehearsing a scene with Susie, and I knew I would have a scene to shoot later in the day.
