第25章 未发芽的郁金香 1(第1页)
第25章未发芽的郁金香(1)
That'sWhatFriendsDo
苏珊娜·埃勒SuzanneEller
Jacktossedthepapersonmydesk—hiseyebrowsknitinthtlineasheglaredatme。
“What’swrong?”Iasked。
Hejabbedafiheproposal。“toythi,”hesaid,turningonhisheelsandleavie>
Howdarehetreatmelikethat,Ithought。Ihadeloendcrammar—somethingIthoughtIaidtodo。
It’snotthatIhadn’tbeeherwomen,whohadservedinmyplae,calledhimnamesI’trepeat。Oneco-workertookmeasidethefirstday。“He’spersonallyrespowodiffereariesleavingthefirm,”shewhispered。
Astheweekswentby,IgrewtodespiseJack。ItwasagaihiurherdloveyoureJackquicklyslappedaverbalinsultournedhisrayedaboutit,buttobeho,Iuthiminhispla。
Oneday,anotherofhisepisodesleftmeiormedintohisoffice,preparedtolosemyjobifhemanknowhowIfelt。IopehedoorandJacedup。
“What?”hesaidabruptly。
SuddeIhadtodo。Afterall,hedeservedit。
Isata。“Jack,thewayyou’vebeeingmeiswrong。I’veneverhadaomethatrofessional,it’swrong,andit’swrooallowittoue,”Isaid。
Jaiervouslyandleanedbahischair。Iyeyesbriefly。Godhelpme,Iprayed。
“Iwanttomakeyouapromise。Iwillbeafriend,”Isaid,“Iwilltreatyouasyoudeservetobetreated,withrespedness。Youdeservethat,”Isaid。“Everybodydoes。”Islippedoutofthedclosedthedoorbehindme。
Jaetherestoftheweek。Proposals,spedlettersappearedonmydeskwhileIwasatlundthecorrectedversioseenagain。IbroughtcookiestotheoffiedayaJack’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。