Page 36 of Why Not Forever?

Both the statement and the offer are surprising, because I hadn’t pictured her as a person who visits the Vancouver Aquarium, and I hadn’t expected her to invite me to take part in her day off.

“Yeah? You don’t mind if I come?”

“Why would I mind?”

Because for a long time, you couldn’t stand me? For the last week that we’ve been married, you haven’t spent any time with me? I’m not sure if you even want to.

I think all these things, but I don’t voice any of them. Instead, I say, “I’ll come. When do you want to go?”

A couple hours later, we’re walking through the front doors of the Aquarium. As soon as we’re inside, it’s almost like a weight has been lifted off Vic’s shoulders. She leads me through a hall to our right, past a bright tank with colourful fish, then past another with a turtle who she waves at before leading me through a set of swinging wooden doors, being blasted with heat as soon as we’re in.

“How long since you’ve been here?” she asks, passing a tank of piranhas.

“Oh, a very long time. I think I took someone here ages ago. Cooper? With the number of nieces and nephews I have and the cost, I really couldn’t afford it in the beginning. When I could, I didn’t think of it.” We pass through another set of doors.

It’s the Amazon exhibit where a boardwalk winds through a bunch of tall trees.

“I didn’t know they had flamingos here,” I say, pointing at a small, bright pink bird.

Vic laughs. “They don’t. That’s called an ibis.” She looks up at the ceiling, standing off to one side.

“What are you looking for?” I ask.

“Not looking for. I found him.”

She grabs my arm, pulling me close and pointing into the trees above us. I’m distracted by the scent of her, something floral and warm that I can detect over the smells of the make-shift rainforest we’re standing in.

“There he is. The sloth.”

I look up where she’s pointing and can see something pale and not moving among the branches.

“Are you sure?” I ask. “Is it asleep?”

She laughs again and I want to bring her here every day if it means she’ll laugh more. “Probably. Come on. Let’s go see the anaconda.”

She pulls me along the boardwalk, past the spot with a bunch of tiny monkeys to look at the huge snake instead. “You wouldn’t rather look at the cute little guys?”

“The anaconda has been here way longer than they have. I also just like how powerful this guy looks. See how big around he is? He’s as fat as my leg.”

“Your leg isn’t fat.”

She grins at me, and I note she hasn’t let go of my arm. “I know. But that’s how big he is.”

She pulls me along, past the rest of the Amazon gallery, into the Tropics zone, then along the corridor that features the BC Coast. We stop at a tank, and she finds the octopus in her hiding spot.

“I find her every time I’m here,” she says proudly before we move on. “I’ve even seen her come out three times.”

“Is she your favourite part?” I ask.

Vic shakes her head. “No. Come on. I’ll show you my favourite.”

She takes me outside, past the Steller Sea Lions, and down some stairs where she sits on a bench in front of a huge wall of glass and I sit next to her. On the other side of the glass, seals swim in circles around and around in their tank. If we were above ground, we would be able to see where they’re sitting on rocks at the top.

“This is my favourite spot. There’s something so relaxing about watching them. Like a moving picture. They’re so at peace, even though they can’t be returned to the wild.”

“None of them?”

She shakes her head sadly. “Most of the mammals here, if not all of them, are here because they can’t go back to the wild. Most of these guys are blind, actually.”

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