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Jack avoided me the rest of the week. Proposals, specs, and letters appeared on my desk while I was at lunch, and my corrected versions were not seen again. I brought cookies to the office one day and left a batch on his desk. Another day I left a note. "Hope your day is going great," it read.
那個星期余下的幾天，杰克一直躲著我。他總趁我吃午飯時，把計劃書、技術說明和信件放在我桌上，并且，我修改過的文件不再被打回來。一天，我買了些餅干去辦公室，順便在杰克桌上留了一包。第二天，我又留了一張字條，在上面寫道：“祝你今天一切順利。”
Over the next few weeks, Jack reappeared. He was reserved, but there were no other episodes. Coworkers cornered me in the break room. "Guess you got to Jack," they said. "You must have told him off good."
接下來的幾個星期，杰克不再躲避我了，但沉默了許多，辦公室里再也沒發生不愉快的事情。于是，同事們在休息室把我團團圍了起來。“聽說杰克被你鎮住了，”他們說，“你肯定大罵了他一頓。”
I shook my head. "Jack and I are becoming friends," I said in faith. I refused to talk about him. Every time I saw Jack in the hall, I smiled at him. After all, that's what friends do.
我搖了搖頭，一字一頓地說：“我們會成為朋友。”我根本不想提起杰克，每次在大廳看見他時，我總沖他微笑。畢竟，朋友就該這樣。
One year after our "talk," I discovered I had breast cancer. I was thirty-two, the mother of three beautiful young children, and scared. The cancer had metastasized to my lymph nodes and the statistics were not great for long-term survival. After my surgery, friends and loved ones visited and tried to find the right words. No one knew what to say, and many said the wrong things. Others wept, and I tried to encourage them. I clung to hope myself.
一年后，我32歲，是三個漂亮孩子的母親，但我被確診為乳腺癌，這讓我極端恐懼。癌細胞已經擴散到我的淋巴腺。從統計數據來看，我的時間不多了。手術后，我拜訪了親朋好友，他們盡量寬慰我，都不知道說些什么好，有些人反而說錯了話，另外一些人則為我難過，還得我去安慰他們。我始終沒有放棄希望。
One day, Jack stood awkwardly in the doorway of my small, darkened hospital room. I waved him in with a smile. He walked over to my bed and without a word placed a bundle beside me. Inside the package lay several bulbs.
就在我出院的前一天，我看到門外有個人影。是杰克，他尷尬地站在門口。我微笑著招呼他進來，他走到我床邊，默默地把一包東西放在我旁邊，那里邊是幾個球莖。
"Tulips," he said.
“這是郁金香。”他說。
I grinned, not understanding.
我笑著，不明白他的用意。
He shuffled his feet, then cleared his throat. "If you plant them when you get home, they'll come up next spring. I just wanted you to know that I think you'll be there to see them when they come up."
他清了清嗓子，“回家后把它們種下，到明年春天就長出來了。”他挪挪腳，“我希望你知道，你一定看得到它們發芽開花。”
Tears clouded my eyes and I reached out my hand. "Thank you," I whispered.
我淚眼朦朧地伸出手。
Jack grasped my hand and gruffly replied, "You're welcome. You can't see it now, but next spring you'll see the colors I picked out for you. I think you'll like them." He turned and left without another word.
“謝謝你。”我低聲說。杰克抓住我的手，生硬地答道：“不必客氣。到明年長出來后，你就能看到我為你挑的是什么顏色的郁金香了。”之后，他沒說一句話便轉身離開了。
For ten years, I have watched those red-and-white striped tulips push their way through the soil every spring.
轉眼間，十多年過去了，每年春天，我都會看著這些紅白相間的郁金香破土而出。事實上，今年九月，醫生已宣布我痊愈了。我也看著孩子們高中畢業，進入大學。
In a moment when I prayed for just the right word, a man with very few words said all the right things.
在那絕望的時刻，我祈求他人的安慰，而這個男人寥寥數語，卻情真意切，溫暖著我脆弱的心。
After all, that's what friends do.
畢竟，朋友之間就該這么做。
