“I’m certain you’ve misunderstood. Surely your father wouldn’t do anything that could harm someone else.”
“You know so little about my father. Lord Barry’s vineyard is his baby. His cherished baby. He wanted to see his wines compete with the great wines of Italy and France.”
“I do remember your father as a man who took great pride in every endeavor he embarked on.”
“Pride?”Kenneth said with disdain. “If that is pride, I want nothing of it. Pride in the abuse of another human being? Pride in doing anything and everything to make more and more money.”
He waved his hand around the room, the beautiful large room with its expensive furniture, its lavish window treatments, and its luxurious bedding that probably cost more than many people’s entire home. “Look at this. Look at this place. Do we need more? Do we even need what we already have?”
“Kenneth, you are from a long line of rich powerful men. Your great-grandfather built an empire, your grandfather helped it flourish and, now, you father is adding to the richness you benefit from. This isn’t exactly new money that suddenly fell into your lap.”
Bleary-eyed, he looked at me. “Up until recently, yes, we had many Mexicans working our fields. The pay was minimal, but fair. The working conditions were rough, but fair. And the housing they lived in was barren and sparse, but...”
“Fair?”
He nodded. “These hard-working men were able to send money back to their families. It wasn’t a windfall by our standards, but, for the most part, the men were satisfied with the conditions. Now? My father has fired all of them, every last one of them. Men who’ve worked with us for years. Men we trusted, even befriended to a degree. He fired them and brought in illegal migrants...undocumented, illegal alien...choose your qualifier. In the end, it’s all the same. They are prepared to work for half the rate...a quarter of the rate. Hell, they don’t pay taxes so...what the hell. The work is hard and back breaking and the hours long.”
My jaw dropped as I listened to him, wondering if he was delirious or if he was truly conscious of what he was saying.
“You’re getting worked up again, Kenneth. Rest.”
His eyes widened. “For crying out loud, Darling. You don’t understand. It’s not just tough strong men working our fields now. There are presently four children working for us. Children! Two of them are fifteen, one is thirteen and one of them, Darling...one of them is only eleven years old. How fair is that?”
My heart pounded. I didn’t want to hear anymore. I didn’t want to know. And yet, I knew I had to know the extent of his father’s...His what? His selfishness? His greed? His callousness?
“He justifies his actions by saying ‘they’re used to it”. He thinks they’re used to harsh conditions, little pay and living conditions that you wouldn’t wish on a dog.”
I nodded. “Yes. I do believe I’ve heard that justification before...that they’reusedto it.”
“Do you believe it? Do you believe that these people are simply meant to have a hard life?People like my father want them to come over illegally so they can control them like slaves, pay them as little to nothing.They claim they need them to clean their toilets, grow their crops, do the worst jobs nobody wants.So they want them to come over without papers, without ids.If they had come over legally, they wouldn’t be kept in servitude.It’s all part of such a big horrible...many of them came over the border through cartels.Many of the girls on their way died or were...”he looked away.“How can people like Father be ‘helping’ them under these circumstances?”
I shrugged. I’d never really considered the question.
He set his head back onto his pillow and closed his eyes. “It’s like people who claim that the lobster doesn’t feel pain when you toss it into boiling water. Right. I guess that’s why it fights to get out of the pot.”
He gripped my hand and squeezed it tight. “I can’t go on like this anymore. I can’t bear to look at the four walls around me and appreciate any of it.”
Muttering, he closed his eyes and his hold of my hand loosened. “I can’t bear it.”
His breathing grew deep, and while he muttered a few more incoherent sentences, he then fell into a deep sleep.
Frowning, I looked at him, wondering how deep his delirium was. I went to his private bathroom, wet a washcloth and brought it back to him, setting it on his warm brow. He groaned then smiled weakly.
For the next hour, I sat with him and listened to his ramblings. At times he seemed at peace, like when he spoke of a relationship with a young Latina he seemed quite fond of. At other times he was agitated, accusing his father of unspeakable atrocities.
Abbie came to see what I was up to, then declared that I wasn’t needed for another hour or two. Matt stopped by as well, happy to see me at his brother’s side. He seemed relieved to see me there...thankful.
“Can I speak to you a moment?”I said before he left the room again.
“Sure. What’s up?
“Kenneth...he’s been talking a lot.”
Matt shrugged. “He just spent a few months out in California. I guess he has a lot to say.”
“What do you know of your father’s business in America?”
Again, he shrugged. “Not much, really. I know he grows grapes. I know he makes wine, and I know he’d like to make wine good enough to compete with European countries. Beyond that, nothing.”
