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。