"Ok, I won't then. I'm sorry that I did imply that I knew more than I do on this." Ernie withdrew for a moment before looking at Zacharias with the added ingredient of surprise to his initial sadness and pity.
"Zacharias--I can understand that you'd be so upset that you won't be thinking straight right now. And I'm sorry that you feel this alone then. Or maybe I'm wrong in my assumption I can't imagine what you would feel. That's why I dropped by. I couldn't leave you here on your own like this." Ernie did what he did best in situations where he didn't quite know exactly what to say, and that is by rambling on.