在那绝望的时刻,我祈求他人的安慰,而这个男人寥寥数语,却情真意切,温暖着我脆弱的心。
毕竟,朋友之间就该这么做。
Jacktossedthepapersonmydesk—hiseyebrowsknitinthtlineasheglaredatme。
"What?"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,anditformetoallowittoue,"Isaid。
Jaiervouslyandleanedbahischair。Iyeyesbriefly。Godhelpme,Iprayed。
"Iwanttomakeyouapromise。Iwillbeafriend,"Isaid。"Iwilltreatyouasyoudeservetobetreated,withrespedness。Youdeservethat,"Isaid。"Everybodydoes。"Islippedoutofthedclosedthedoorbehindme。
Jaetherestoftheweek。Proposals,spedlettersappearedonmydeskwhileIwasatlundthecorrectedversioseenagain。IbroughtcookiestotheoffiedayaJack'sdesk。AnotherdayIlefta;Hoi;itread。
&hefeweared。Hewasreserved,buttherewerenootherepisodes。Co-workerseinthebreakroom。
"GuessyougottoJack,"theysaid。"Youmusthavetoldhimoffgood。"Ishookmyhead。"JadIarebei;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'tseeitnow,butspringyou'llseethecolorsIpickedoutforyou。"Heturhoutaword。
Ihaveseenthoseredaripedtulipspushthroughthesforovertenyearsnow。Infact,thisSeptemberthedoctorwilldeclaremecured。I'veseenmygraduatefromhighsdentercollege。
IwhenIprayedforjusttherightword,amanwithveryfewwordssaidalltherightthings。
&hat'swhatfriendsdo。