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第12章 朋友该做的事ThatsWhatFriendsDo（第2页）

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。