[Benjamin doesn't stop digging, although the pace of it does slow, to show that he's listening to her. If he keeps stopping, he'll be here all night.

But when she's finished, he does pause, straighten to look up at her.]

...He was desperate. I can understand that.

[His own work-rough hands, calluses that fit the shape of a shovel almost better than they would the shape of a razor, or a pair of scissors.]

It doesn't make what he did right. Not then, and not now. I'm not saying that at all. But that kind of loss is hard for even an adult to bear.

...If you'd like, I could use another pair of hands. Nothing can make this better, but doing something can make it a little easier to bear.