It didn't surprise me. No matter what time of the day it was or what he was doing at the time, Daddy never seemed flustered. It was as if there was nothing in this world that could surprise him. He had a calm, even demeanor that impressed anyone he met and put him or her at ease almost immediately. No one, except maybe Mrs. Fennel, knew his exact age, not even Ava or Brianna. He did seem to possess the wisdom of a man centuries old, even though it was difficult to believe he was more than forty-five or fifty.
When was he born? Where was he born? Who were his parents? Those were questions I thought Mrs. Fennel would never answer. I asked Daddy how old he was, of course, but he only smiled and said, "Guess," or "You tell me, and that will be my age."
When I asked him where he was born, he said he'd been too young to remember. He always joked but never revealed anything.
