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。