第20章 A Friend on the Line（第2页）

“Whywouldyouwannadothat?”heasked，surprised。

“Well，maybewecouldbephonefriends。Youknow，likepenpals。”

&ed。“Iwouldn’tmind。。。havingafriendagain。”Hisvoidedalittletentative。

IcalledAdolfthefollowingafternoonandseveraldayslater。Easytotalkwith，herelatedhismemoriesofWorldWarIandII，theHindenburgdisasteraorits。Hewasfasg。Igavehimmyhomeandoffiumberssohecouldcallus。Hedid—almosteveryday。

IwasnotjustbeingkindtoaloalkingtoAdolfortanttome，becauseI，too，hadabiggapinmylife。Raisedinesandfosterhomes，Ineverhadafather。Gradually，Adolftookonakindoffatherlyimportaalkedaboutmyjobandcollegecourses，whidedatnight。

Adolfwarmedtotheroleofselor。WhiledisgadisagreementI’dhadervisor，Itoldmyhiwithhim。”

“What’stherush?”Adolfed。“Letthings。WheasoldasIam，youfindoutthattimetakescareofalot。Ifthiworse，thenyoutalktohim。”

Therewasalongsilence。“Youknow，”hesaidsoftly，“IamtalkingtoyoujustthewayI’dtalktoaboyofmyoantedafamily—and。You’retooyoungtoknowhowthatfeels。”

No，Iwasn’t。I’dalwayswantedafamily—aIdidn’tsayanything，afraidIwouldoholdbackthehurtI’dfeltf。

Oneevening，Adolfmehbirthdaywasingup。Afterbuyingapieceoffiberboard，Idesigneda2“×5”greetingcardwithad89it。IaskedalltheyOffiissinit。Igatherednearlyahuures。Adolfwouldgetakickoutofthis，Iknew。

&alkingonthephoneforfourmonthsnow，andIthoughtthiswouldbeagoodtimetomeetfacetoface。SoIdecidedtodeliverthecardbyhand。

Ididn’ttellAdolfIwasing;Ijustdrovetohisaddressahecarupthestreetfromhisapartmemanwassmailinthehallwaywhehebuilding。HenoddedasIcheckedthemailboxesforAdolf’sartment1H，some20feetfromwhereIstood。

&pouhext。Wouldwehavethesamechemistryiwehadonthephohefirststabofdoubt。Maybehewouldrejectmethewaymyfatherrejectedmewheofmylife。ItappedonAdolf’sdoor。Whentherewasnoanswer，Iknockedharder。

&manlookedupfr。“here，”hesaid。

“Yeah，”Isaid，feelingalittlefoolish。“Ifheansweredhisdoorthewayheanswershisphohismaytakeallday。”

“Areyouarelativeorsomething?”

“No，justafriend。”

“I’mreallysorry，”hesaidquietly，“butMr。Methdieddaybeforeyesterday。”

Died?Adolf?Foramoment，I’taoodthereinshoddisbelief。Then，pulliher，Ithamaothelate-msuowardthecar，misty-eyed。

Then，roundingtheer，IsawadaliheOldTestameomymihatalltimes。Andespedeath，Irealized。Thisbroughtamnitioakessomesuddenandsadturoawakenustothebeautyofaspecialpresenourlives。Now，forthefirsttime，IsensedhowverycloseAdolfandIhadbee。Ithasbeeneasy，ahiswouldmakeitevehehmyclosefriend。Slowly，Ifeltawarmthsurgingthroughme。IheardAdolf’sgrowlyvoig，“WrohenIheardhimaskingwhyIwao。

“Beattered，Adolf，”Isaidaloudtonoone。“BecauseIwasyourfriend。”

Iplaopehdaythebaydgotbehindthewheel。Beftheengine，Ilookedovermyshoulder。“Adolf，”Iwhispered。“Ididhewroall。Igotyou。”