迪文小说

朋友该做的事 that what friend d（第1页）

佚名

Anonymous

Jacktossedtheaersonmydesk—hiseyebrowsknitintoastraightlineasheglaredatme。

“Whatswrong?”Iasked。

Hejabbedafingerattheroosal。“Nexttimeyouwanttochangeanything，askmefirst，”hesaid，turningonhisheelsandleavingmestewinginanger。

Howdarehetreatmelikethat，Ithought。Ihadchangedonelongsentence，andcorrectedgrammar—somethingIthoughtIwasaidtodo。

ItsnotthatIhadntbeenwarned。Theotherwomen，whohadservedinmylacebeforeme，calledhimnamesIcouldntreeat。Oneco-workertookmeasidethefirstday。“Hesersonallyresonsiblefortwodifferentsecretariesleavingthefirm。”shewhisered。

Astheweekswentby，IgrewtodesiseJack。ItwasagainsteverythingIbelievedin—turntheothercheekandloveyourenemies。ButJackquicklyslaedaverbalinsultonanycheekturnedhisway。Irayedaboutit。Buttobehonest，Iwantedtouthiminhislace，notlovehim。

Oneday，anotherofhiseisodesleftmeintears。Istormedintohisoffice，rearedtolosemyjobifneeded，butnotbeforeIletthemanknowhowIfelt。IoenedthedoorandJackglancedu。

“What?”hesaidabrutly。

SuddenlyIknewwhatIhadtodo。Afterall，hedeservedit。

Isatacrossfromhim。“Jack，thewayyouvebeentreatingmeiswrong。Iveneverhadanyoneseaktomethatway。Asarofessional，itswrong，anditswrongformetoallowittocontinue，”Isaid。

Jacksnickerednervouslyandleanedbackinhischair。Iclosedmyeyesbriefly。Godhelme，Irayed。

“Iwanttomakeyouaromise。Iwillbeafriend，”Isaid。“Iwilltreatyouasyoudeservetobetreated，withresectandkindness。Youdeservethat，”Isaid。“Everybodydoes。”Isliedoutofthechairandclosedthedoorbehindme。

Jackavoidedmetherestoftheweek。Proosals，secs，andlettersaearedonmydeskwhileIwasatlunch，andthecorrectedversionswerenotseenagain。IbroughtcookiestotheofficeonedayandleftabatchonJacksdesk。AnotherdayIleftanote。“Hoeyourdayisgoinggreat。”itread。

Overthenextfewweeks，Jackreaeared。Hewasreserved，buttherewerenoothereisodes。Co-workerscorneredmeinthebreakroom。

“GuessyougottoJack，”theysaid。“Youmusthavetoldhimoffgood。”Ishookmyhead。“JackandIarebecomingfriends。”Isaidinfaith。Irefusedtotalkabouthim。EverytimeIsawJackinthehall，Ismiledathim。Afterall，thatswhatfriendsdo。

Oneyearafterour“talk，”IdiscoveredIhadbreastcancer。Iwas32，themotherofthreebeautifulyoungchildren，andscared。Thecancerhadmetastasizedtomylymhnodesandthestatisticswerenotgreatforlong-termsurvival。Aftersurgery，Ivisitedwithfriendsandlovedoneswhotriedtofindtherightwordstosay。Nooneknewwhattosay。Manysaidthewrongthings。Otherswet，andItriedtoencouragethem。Iclungtohoe。

Thelastdayofmyhositalstay，thedoordarkenedandJackstoodawkwardlyonthethreshold。Iwavedhiminwithasmileandhewalkedovertomybedand，withoutaword，lacedabundlebesideme。Insidelayseveralbulbs。

“Tulis，”hesaid。

Ismiled，notunderstanding。

Heclearedhisthroat。“Ifyoulantthemwhenyougethome，theyllcomeunextsring。”Heshuffledhisfeet。“IjustwantedyoutoknowthatIthinkyoullbetheretoseethemwhentheycomeu。”

TearscloudedmyeyesandIreachedoutmyhand。

“Thankyou，”Iwhisered。

Jackgrasedmyhandandgrufflyrelied，“Yourewelcome。Youcantseeitnow，butnextsringyoullseethecolorsIickedoutforyou。”Heturnedandleftwithoutaword。

Ihaveseenthoseredandwhitestriedtulisushthroughthesoileverysringforovertenyearsnow。Infact，thisSetemberthedoctorwilldeclaremecured。Iveseenmychildrengraduatefromhighschoolandentercollege。

InamomentwhenIrayedforjusttherightword，amanwithveryfewwordssaidalltherightthings。

Afterall，thatswhatfriendsdo。