第38章 Thats What Friends Do（第1页）

第38章That'sWhatFriendsDo

Jacktossedthepapersonmydesk—hiseyebrowsknitinthtlineasheglaredatme。

“?”Iasked。

Hejabbedafiheproposal。“toythi，”hesaid，turningonhisheelsandleavie>

Howdarehetreatmelikethat，Ithought。Ihadeloendcrammar—somethingIthoughtIaidtodo。

It'snotthatIhadn'tbeeherwomen，whohadservedinmyplae，calledhimnamesIp;apos;trepeat。Oneco-workertookmeasidethefirstday。“He'spersonallyrespowodiffereariesleavingthefirm，”shewhispered。

Astheweekswentby，IgrewtodespiseJack。ItwasagaihiurherdloveyoureJackquicklyslappedaverbalinsultournedhisrayedaboutit，buttobeho，Iuthiminhispla。

Oneday，anotherofhisepisodesleftmeiormedintohisoffice，preparedtolosemyjobifhemanknowhowIfelt。IopehedoorandJacedup。

“What?”hesaidabruptly。

SuddeIhadtodo。Afterall，hedeservedit。

Isata。“Jack，theos;vebeeingmeisos;veneverhadaomethatrofessional，it&ap，andit&apformetoallowittoue，”Isaid。

Jaiervouslyandleanedbahischair。Iyeyesbriefly。Godhelpme，Iprayed。

“Iwanttomakeyouapromise。Iwillbeafriend，”Isaid。“Iwilltreatyouasyoudeservetobetreated，withrespedness。Youdeservethat，”Isaid。“Everybodydoes。”Islippedoutofthedclosedthedoorbehindme。

Jaetherestoftheweek。Proposals，spedlettersappearedonmydeskwhileIwasatlundthecorrectedversioseenagain。Ibroughtcookiestotheoffiedayap;apos;sdesk。AnotherdayIleftanote。“Hoiread。

&hefeweared。Hewasreserved，buttherewerenootherepisodes。Co-workerseinthebreakroom。

“GuessyougottoJack，”theysaid。“Youmusthavetoldhimoffgood。”Ishookmyhead。“JadIarebeingfriends，”Isaidinfaith。Irefusedtotalkabouthim。EverytimeIsawJathehall，Ismiledathim。Afterall，that'swhatfriendsdo。

&erour“talk，”IdiscoveredIhadbreastcer。Iwas32，themotherofthreebeautifulyoung，ahecerhadmetastasizedtomylymphhestatistiotgreatf-termsurvival。Aftersurgery，Ivisitedwithfriendsandlovedoriedtofiwordstosay。osay。Manysaidthewrongthi，aethem。Igtohope。

&dayofmyhospitalstay，thedoordarkenedandJackstoodawkwardlyohreshold。Iwavedhiminwithasmileandhewalkedovertomybedand，ladlebesideme。Insidelayseveralbulbs。

“Tulips，”hesaid。

Ismiled，anding。

Heclearedhisthroat。“Ifyouplantthemwhehey'lleupspring。”Heshuffledhisfeet。“IjustwaoknowthatIthinkyou'llbetheretoseethemwhentheyeup。”

Tearsyeyesamyhand。

“Thankyou，”Iwhispered。

Jackgraspedmyhandandgrufflyreplied，“You'rewelp;apos;tseeitnow，butspringyou'llseethecolorsIpickedoutforyou。”Heturhoutaword。

Ihaveseenthoseredaripedtulipspushthroughthesforovertenyearsnow。Infact，thisSeptemberthedoctorwilldeclaremecured。I'veseenmygraduatefromhighsdentercollege。

IwhenIprayedforjusttherightword，amanwithveryfewwordssaidalltherightthings。

&hat'swhatfriendsdo。