Radio Belly Page 18

  Turns out the math on this boat is surprising: turns out one plus one is three. So now it’s us and you—a floatable family in an endless sea.

  The sea continues to recede, giving back land, green and raw, but we wait instead for the world above or the world below. In the meantime I’ve begun to fill the pages of your father’s book with some kind of history so you will know where you come from, a stronghold amidst so much that is watery and changeable in this world. Until then the three of us float, rootless, unbound. Until then you are our moon and we look to you for light.

  Acknowledgments

  A HUGE THANK YOU to my family: Grandma, for setting me on the path; Mom, for holding me together; Dad, for keeping me on the path; Dylan, for knowing me better than I know myself; Alexander, for inspiring me and supporting me when it mattered most; Sue Mac, for always telling me I can; Kaia Scott, for often showing me the way. Thank you Ryan Buckley for always being willing to talk about ideas. Thank you Susan Housel for the sanctuary. Thank you to George and Ruth Nicklas for your generosity in the final stages of finishing this book.

  Special thank you to my editor, Barbara Berson, for so much guidance and patience; to Chris Labonte, for believing in me; and to my agent, Hilary McMahon, for always knowing exactly what to say.

  A world of thanks to Zsuzsi Gartner for helping me find my voice. Without you this book wouldn’t exist. Thank you to the faculty and staff of the UBC Optional Residency MFA program. And endless gratitude to my fellow writers and friends—Zoe Stikeman, Laura Trunkey, Una McDonnell, Jason Brown, Miranda Hill, Lisa Baldiserra, Lori McNulty, Melanie Schnell and Vicky Bell—for your generosity and expertise and for being my constant muse.

  BUFFY CRAM’S FICTION has appeared in Prairie Fire, The Bellevue Literary Review and the bestselling collection Darwin’s Bastards: Astounding Tales from Tomorrow. She has spent the last decade teaching and writing in Vancouver, Montreal, Boston, Texas, Mexico, South Korea, South America and various parts of Europe. She currently lives in Berlin.

  Copyright © 2012 by Buffy Cram

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For a copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

  Douglas & McIntyre

  An imprint of D&M Publishers Inc.

  2323 Quebec Street, Suite 201

  Vancouver BC Canada V5T 4S7

  www.douglas-mcintyre.com

  Cataloguing data available from Library and Archives Canada

  ISBN 978-1-55365-902-0 (pbk.)

  ISBN 978-1-55365-903-7 (ebook)

  Editing by Barbara Berson

  Cover and text design by Peter Cocking

  Cover illustration by Brian Tong

  We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the British Columbia Arts Council, the Province of British Columbia through the Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities.