Since Nona’s will allowed him to stay in her house in Mannysh Wood as long as he wanted, David lived on in the great empty house long after the children stopped coming to see him. He became eccentric. His very hair was enthusiastic, gray, and wild. In time, he became known as the Sage of Mannysh Wood, not because he was wise and prone to maxims, but because he was silent and looked like a prophet. The silence of the house, the absence of Nona and Charyn were in his bones. He didn’t laugh. He didn’t cry.
He never realized that his personal happiness was the direct result of three women’s sacrifice. He never became aware of how much energy and love went into making his life happy. Since he never realized what their contribution had been, it never occurred to him to question whether he had b
