| A | B |
|---|
| Have you heard the news? | What news? |
| About Margie's little brother? | What about him? What happened? |
| He died. | Died! Are you sure? |
| Mrs. Winthrop called my mom about an hour ago. When Margie's mother went to get Billy up this morning, she found him dead in his crib. | Oh, that's terrible. I didn't even know he was sick. |
| He wasn't. It was Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. It happens sometimes; for no reason at all, a perfectly healthy baby just quits breathing. | Poor Margie. She was so excited when Billy was born. What are we going to do? How can we help? |
| There's nothing anyone can do. He's already dead. | I mean, what are we going to do for Margie? |
| I guess we could send her a sympathy card. | I think we should buy some flowers or go over to her house. |
| Flowers won't bring Billy back. | Maybe Margie just wants someone to talk to. |
| We'd be in the way. They probably don't want visitors now. | We could just give our flowers to whoever answers the door and ask them to tell Margie we're there if she wants to see us but if she doesn't, we'll understand. |
| Flowers wilt. | We could collect money from everyone at school and contribute it for research about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. |
| Everyone I know is broke. Including me. We couldn't collect enough to make a difference in the research. | But Margie and her family would know that we tried to help. |
| Have you ever tried to collect money for a charity? It takes forever. People say they want to contribute, but no one ever remembers to bring the money. | Margie's parents must be devastated. She told me that they had wanted another baby ever since Margie was three years old. |
| He was a cute little guy, too. Always grinning and drooling. | I know! Let's bake muffins and take them over. Nobody in their family is going to want feel like cooking, but sooner or later they'll get hungry. |
| What if Margie thinks that we're just snoopy? You know, like we want to come over and watch her cry. | I don't want to watch Margie cry. I just want her to know that I feel bad, too. I wouldn't want her to think that nobody except her family cares that Billy died. |
| It's just awkward. I'm afraid I'll say the wrong thing. | All I plan to say is, "I'm sorry". |
| Still, it isn't the same as if an old person dies. You expect somebody's grandfather to die, but not their baby brother. | All the more reason we should let Margie know that we're thinking about her. |
| Let's go tell Julie the news. She's going to be so shocked. She even baby-sat for Billy a couple of times when Margie's folks came to watch Margie play in the volleyball games at school. | You go ahead. I think I'll make those muffins and take them over for Margie's family. |
| What if they don't want to talk to you? | Then I'll leave the muffins and come home. |
| What if they get mad? | They'll know that I came out of love and concern. They'll understand that I want to show sympathy. How is Margie supposed to know how we feel if we don't tell her? |
| Well, good luck. I'm going to go find Julie. This is the worst tradgedy that's ever happened to anyone I know. | I wonder if Margie likes blueberry muffins or banana muffins. Maybe I'll make some of each. |
