Bella called Mariel, who had left Dallas and returned to Saco, to tell her about her visit to Mr. Henderson's house, and invited Mariel to accompany her to visit again. Mariel was surprised to hear how Mr. Henderson was doing.
"Oh my God, is he sick?" she exclaimed. "Poor Mr. Henderson. He used to be so nice to us, the cheerleaders. He was nice to everyone."
"He has to do hemodialysis three times a week," Bella said. "But he's still as nice as ever. It's sad to see him now when we remember how fit and energetic he was when he was teaching."
"I want to see him," said Mariel. "Can we go to his house?"
"I was just about to take you there," said Bella. "We could take Brenda too."
"Oh, she'd love to! She likes Mr. Henderson too."
Bella was delighted that Mariel was as excited as she was. "Maybe we can invite some of our other school friends, especially the football team. Let's make a surprise for Mr. Henderson."
