毕竟，朋友之间就该这么做。
Jacktossedthepapersonmydesk—hiseyebrowsknitinthtlineasheglaredatme。“What’s>
Hejabbedafiheproposal。“toythi，”hesaid，turningonhisheelsandleavie>
Howdarehetreatmelikethat，Ithought。Ihadeloendcrammar—somethingIthoughtIaidtodo。
It’snotthatIhadn’tbeeherwomen，whohadservedinmyplae，calledhimnamesI’trepeat。Oneco-workertookmeasidethefirstday。“He’spersonallyrespowodiffereariesleavingthefirm。”shewhispered。
Astheweekswentby，IgrewtodespiseJack。ItwasagaihiurherdloveyoureJackquicklyslappedaverbalinsultournedhisrayedaboutit。Buttobehoedtoputhiminhispla。
&herofhisepisodesleftmeiormedintohisoffice，preparedtolosemyjobifbeforeIletthemanknowhowIfelt。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，spedletersappearedonmydeskwhileIwasatlundthecorrectedversioseenagain。IbroughtcookiestotheoffiedayaJack’sdesk。AnotherdayIleftanote。“Hoiread。
&hefeeared。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’rewele。You’tseeitspringyou’llseethecolorsIpickedoutforyou。”Heturhoutaword。
Ihaveseenthoseredaripedtulipspushthroughthesforovertenyearsnow。Infact，thisSeptemberthedoctorwilldeclaremecured。I’veseenmygraduatefromhighsdentercollege。
IwhenIprayedforjusttherightword，amanwithveryfewwordssaidalltherightthings。
&hat’swhatfriendsdo。