I shrug uncomfortably and my eyes wander to the rest of the shop, taking in the familiar space.

It isn't that I didn't like the shop. I love everything about it--waking up early to start the day, brewing the coffee, and making conversation with our customers. To give others a place where they felt at home, somewhere they could talk and meet up with people...it's the most rewarding part of owning the business. I wouldn't be able to do any of this had my parents not taught me the things I value to this day.

But still...I want to do it my way now. Is that so wrong?

"Are you okay, William?" Katya asks.

I look up to see that the whole group has gone quiet. Not only that, but the shop is devoid of people. Connor goes to the door to flip the "Open" sign to "Closed". Misty comes out from the counter and starts wiping down a table.

I clear my throat. "Nothing, I was just..."

"Come on, just say it," says Eddie. Everyone looks at him. "What? We're gonna ignore that something's going on with Will?"

I get the hunch that Eddie knew all along, and give in. "Do you think I've changed it too much after my parents died? The shop, I mean."

Anthony raises an eyebrow. "Would that be a bad thing?"

"I don't know." I look up at the vintage photos hung up on the wall; the Nguyen family's legacy preserved in a series of pictures. "The shop's been in my family for generations. It has a lot of history and people behind it. When it's essentially a family heirloom that everyone is so proud of, you'd want to preserve the business as much as possible. Change doesn't come so easily, you know?"

I sigh, then shake my head. "I have so many ideas for what I could do with the shop and how to make it better. I want change. But I can't even decide what to do with the menu because doing anything would be like erasing a part of my parents."

Katya leans forward. "Will, your parents trusted you with their business for a reason. Wouldn't they want what's best for the shop? If that means changing some things, I think they'll understand."

"There's plenty of ways you can help the shop move forward while keeping true to what your parents wanted," Anthony points out. "Aren't you doing that already?"

"Just do what you feel is right," says Eddie. He gives me a look that's nearly indecipherable. "Yeah, it's a family business, but right now it's in your own hands. Nobody else can tell you what to do with your shop."

His words ring true, but I don't feel any more satisfied. I gradually become aware of how uncomfortable the situation is. The conversation has ended, but the issue refuses to be dropped. Everyone is still thinking about it. Then someone clears their throat. I turn to see Connor standing sheepishly behind the counter. He holds up two jars of coffee beans. "I think I mixed up the two..."

The air relaxes at the table. I stand and head over to him, knowing that he hasn't mixed them at all. Connor knows his coffee varieties too well to do that. Wordlessly, he hands me a towel and winks. I give him a small nod and start to wipe down one of the tables on the far end of the shop. It's far, but not too far that I can't hear my friends talking amongst themselves.

They're talking about the photographs on the wall.

"Was Will really that short?"

"Do you think he is okay?"

"At least his parents gave a damn about him."

"Eddie."

"I miss the Nguyens though. Good people. Seems like yesterday that they'd welcomed us at the door, right?" There's a chorus of agreement.

"Hey, remember when we first came here?" Basim asks. "That's how we met Will, but we didn't know his name until he came up to us and said his name wasn't Pink Apron."

"And he never stopped wearing it." My cheeks warm.

"Wasn't Eddie the one who hated coffee? Then made this table his second home?"

"Because there wasn't a proper place to study on campus without you guys bothering me."

"Eddie, everyone knows coffee was your lifeline for pulling all-nighters. I shudder to think about what would've happened if we didn't drag you here."

Meeting my friends was the best thing that could've happened after moving to Canada. They made me feel more at home, and meeting them was when I finally started to believe what my parents had said.

(Scroll down for Part 4/4)