The Triangle

Back at the antique shop, Whit and Jack continue telling Connie how their friendship nearly broke apart. After Jack had confessed his love to Jenny and mistaken her silence for encouragement, Whit left the library to find her. Jenny was waiting for him because she had been unable to tell Jack the truth. Whit warns that she cannot let Jack believe in a love she does not feel, but Jenny already understands. She begins crying over the pain her honesty will cause, and Whit comforts her with a hug.

Jack has also gone looking for Jenny. From a distance, he sees her embrace Whit but cannot hear their conversation. Troubled by what he has witnessed, he visits Whit that night. Jack asks for an explanation, but Whit believes Jenny must be the one to reveal her own feelings. His refusal makes Jack more suspicious, though he finally agrees to speak with her.

Jenny tells Jack that she loves him as a friend, not in the way he loves her. She explains that she had wanted to be honest at dinner but lost her courage when he read his heartfelt letter. When Jack realizes that Whit is the other man she loves, he feels deceived. Jenny insists that neither she nor Whit intended to go behind his back and that Whit has been concerned about him throughout the situation. Hurt and angry, Jack leaves before she can persuade him.

Alone in his room, Jack withdraws into self-pity. He writes to his longtime friend Emily that he feels betrayed by both Jenny and Whit. He avoids Whit's calls and notes, misses classes, stays away from work, and refuses to answer even his parents. When Whit finally catches him outside his apartment, Jack accuses him of hiding his feelings from the beginning. Whit admits that his affection for Jenny developed as they spent time together, but he cannot explain exactly when it began. Jack refuses to listen and demands to be left alone.

Whit and Jenny worry as Jack shuts out everyone who cares about him. Jenny wonders whether their chance to be together can possibly be right when it has caused so much pain. Whit recognizes that Jenny could not honestly return Jack's love and wonders whether anyone can avoid causing hurt in such a situation. They finally do what they should have done from the start: they pray for guidance, for Jack's comfort, and for the wisdom to act rightly. Over the following weeks, they continue praying whenever they meet.

Jack keeps writing to Emily, but her replies suddenly stop. Believing that he has driven away his last friend, he sinks further into loneliness. Then Emily arrives at his door. She has traveled to see him because her letters have not broken through his anger. After hearing the story from Jack himself, she refuses to support his self-pity.

Emily carefully lays out what has happened. Jenny never returned Jack's romantic feelings, and that would probably have remained true even without Whit. Jack's unexpected declaration left her unsure how to respond, so she sought advice from someone she trusted. Whit comforted her, and Jack saw their innocent embrace without knowing its cause. Though Emily agrees that Jack has a right to feel hurt, she tells him that hurt does not excuse cutting himself off from everyone.

Most importantly, Emily reminds Jack that loving Whit and Jenny means wanting what is best for them even when Jack does not receive what he wants. If they belong together, he should not stand between them. Her direct words finally reach him. Jack admits that neither of them meant to harm him and agrees that he must forgive them. Emily also lets slip that she loves Jack, though she saves that conversation for another time.

Jack returns to the auction house, correctly expecting Whit to seek him out. Whit follows him onto the auction stage and begins apologizing just as the sale is about to start. He even offers to give up Jenny if that is what restoring their friendship requires. Jack's immediate request is simply that Whit get off the stage before the waiting customers hear any more.

After the auction, Whit repeats his apology. Jack assures him that surrendering Jenny would waste everyone's sacrifice. He has prayed and thought about what is best, and he no longer wants the conflict to damage their friendship. He gives his blessing to whatever future God may have for Whit and Jenny. The friends forgive each other, and Jack presents Whit with the rare book he had promised to find for Jenny: a first edition of *The Allegory of Love*, signed by C. S. Lewis.

Jenny receives the book with delight and relief. Whit tells her that Jack is all right and supports their future together, whatever God decides that future should be. Jack also invites both of them to dinner with Emily, making it clear that the four friends can move forward together.

In the present, Whit explains that he and Jenny kept the book as a reminder of how they met, though their young son Jerry later turned their copy into confetti. Jack has finally found a replacement and gives it to Whit on Whit and Jenny's wedding anniversary. Holding the restored keepsake and the memories it represents, the two old friends remain grateful that forgiveness preserved a friendship meant to last.