Stone Junction by Jim Dodge

ducked into the galley and immediately reappeared with his birthday cake, twelve candles blazing, and set it in front of him as she sang happy birthday. Daniel’s eyes glistened in the candlelight.
    ‘Don’t forget to make a wish before you blow them out,’ she reminded him.
    Daniel thought for a moment, took a deep breath and blew out all the candles except the one in the center. Annalee quickly reached over and pinched it out.
    ‘I guess I don’t get my wish,’ Daniel said. Annalee seldom heard self-pity in his voice. She didn’t know how to respond to his sudden shift in mood. ‘You know what I wished?’ Daniel said, then continued before she could answer. ‘I wished I knew who my father was.’
    She grasped the connection with his birthday, but she was still stunned. She sat down across from him, feeling suddenly old and helpless. ‘I’ve told you before, Daniel – I don’t know. I was young and crazy and lost. I was sleeping with anyone who’d hold me warm all night. It could have been a number of men. I wish I could tell you.’
    ‘Tell me,’ Daniel cried. ‘Tell me! You
have
to know!’
    ‘I can’t, Daniel. I honestly don’t know.’
    ‘Liar!’ He exploded from his seat. ‘
Tell me!
’ He raised his right arm and smashed his fist down on the cake.
    Annalee slapped him so hard it numbed her hand. Daniel staggered, barely catching himself against his chair. He brought his frosting-smeared hand to his cheek, blinking rapidly at the tears.
    ‘Goddammit, you little shit,’ Annalee yelled, ‘it
hurts
. Do you think it doesn’t hurt me too?’
    Crying, Daniel nodded mechanically.
    ‘Where is this coming from? Why are you doing this?’
    Daniel kept nodding.
    ‘Talk to me, Daniel. You can’t do that to me and go hide. What is it?’
    Daniel sobbed. ‘I just want to have something. Something I can imagine.’
    Annalee understood now what he wanted. She sat down, suddenly calm. ‘I first saw your father,’ she began, ‘when I was hiding out at a resort in Anchor Bay, about fifty miles down the coast from the Four Deuces. There’d been a bad drought for almost two years; nearly everyone was out of water. I woke up one summer dawn and looked out the window. Thin fog was swirling outside, milky in the first light. I saw a man out in the pasture, a tall, bearded man wearing a top hat and a flowing black cape. He was witching for water with a forked stick, holding it in front of him. I could feel his attention as he worked the field. I walked out in the pasture and stood in front of him. He spread his cape on the ground. Without a word, we made love. When we were done, he covered my shoulders with the cape. Before he left, he pointed out into the field and said, “There’s a deep spring near the center, but there’s no need to dig. It’s going to rain soon.” And the next morning I woke to a soft, soaking rain.’
    Daniel nodded solemnly.
    ‘Your father,’ Annalee said, ‘was a riverboat captain. His boat was the
Delta Queen
. I was a serving girl, a young Cajun from the bayou. I remember how strong his arms were from handling the wheel. You were conceived on the pilot house floor while the wheel twirled slowly and the boat ran free. The next night there was an earthquake. I couldn’t feel it on the water at first, but you could hear people screaming on shore and see the treetops lashing in the moonlight. The river just seemed to roll over everything and you could hear the boat’s timbers snap loud as gunshots and glass shattering in the salon. I was on my way up to the wheelhouse with a bottle of brandy and was knocked back down the stairs. People were screaming and jumping overboard. Suddenly your father was there, lifting me in his arms and carrying me down to the main deck. There was a small dinghy lashed to the bow. He cut it loose with his knife, then lifted me inside. He kissed me, said he loved me, then lowered it. He went back to help the others. As I drifted away, still holding