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。