“You should take a cruise, go see the world again, like you did when you were younger,” I often said.
“I have things to do,” Grand-père would counter.
“Emily is out of school,” I reminded him.
“Yes, but you’re starting in the fall, and someone has to watch over the aquarium,” Grand-père often replied.
“Do you want me to take it over?” I asked. “I mean, when I finish high school.”
“No. No, I don’t, Chérie. I want you to see the world,” he would reply. “That means that you must go off to college and do your best. I want you to have every opportunity to see it. If you or Emily want to come back and run the aquarium later, great. If you don’t, maybe that’s even better. When I am gone, do what you want with it. Sell it. Keep it. It’s all the same to me.”
“We would never sell it. It’s been
