"It will," Joel says, finishing his cookie. "It's... it's not easy. Running a business." He thinks she knows that, he thinks she knows just how much work is really involved, that she's not going into it blind, but even with a good idea of what it takes, he thinks there's always a learning curve. There are always surprises. She'll figure it out as she goes and he's here to answer any questions she has, of course, and she's smart enough to work around problems when they come up.

"But when you get it figured out, it'll feel even better because you're the one who's done it," he continues. "I haven't... I don't try very hard with the store sometimes. Not as hard as I should try, but I've been changing things lately. I'm hoping to buy the property outright in the next few months once I have the down payment I need, but even after eight years running the store on my own, it's still sometimes a surprise."