The Beefy Reconciliation: A Tale of Tummies and Toughness

True repentance means making amends with the person when at all possible.

-Lawana Blackwell, British author.

March 13, 2024: Florentin, Tel Aviv, Israel

The day after the altercation began on the wrong foot. Feeling a strong touch of guilt in his chest, Natan made a brave decision to hop out of bed and apologize to his victim. It’s not typical for him to apologize to people, but today was not an option; it was a must!

Fortunately, Natan knew where his victim resided, because they dwelt in the same medium-sized, eggshell-white apartment building, but on separate floors. Natan lived on the 4th floor, his victim lived on the 3rd floor. Clothed in his usual preppy, baggy attire, he exited his small, beige-coloured unit and made his way to the 3rd floor to meet with his victim. He didn’t even know who his victim was, not even his name. That didn’t matter though, because his main priority was to man up and be accountable for his vile behaviour.

The 3rd floor was the “quiet floor”. After a deafening knock on his victim’s door, a tall and jacked young man in his late 20’s or 30’s opened the door, looking pale in the face and shivering like it was freezing cold.

“Hello. Who are you?”, the victim inquired, shocked.

“Hi. My name is Natan, and I was the one who attacked you on the streets yesterday. I came to apologize for that, because I knew it was uncalled for. You were just minding your own business, and I attacked you. I wasn’t even mad at you, so it didn’t make sense for me to attack you.”

“Hi Natan. Thank you very much for taking the time to apologize to me. That’s so big of you!! My name is Raffy, it’s very nice to meet you! Please come in!”

Grateful for the impromptu invitation, Natan followed Raffy into his spacious, luxurious living room which resembled an office, a hotel room, and a guesthouse all in one. Raffy offered Natan a glass of homemade orange juice, a buttery croissant filled with strawberry-flavoured cream cheese, and a generous piece of freshly baked, melt-in-your-mouth, gooey protein chocolate brownies with peanut butter frosting on top. A natural extravert, Raffy broke the ice after he settled in the living room with his new friend.

“Tell me about yourself! What does a typical day in your life look like?!!”

“I usually watch television, smoke cigarettes on the balcony, sleep, listen to my favourite rap and rock hits in both English and Hebrew, and I draw pictures of cities, people, landmarks, maps, weapons, and places I visited during my army service.”

“Really?! You don’t have a job?!”

“Sadly, no! After I completed my mandatory army service, I developed severe PTSD. My PTSD became so debilitating that I haven’t been able to leave the house without a friend or family member, hold a job, make friends, or pursue an education at an accredited college or university. It’s been a gruesome 20 years, because of my PTSD. I’ve been caked in own psychological filth. That’s why I gained a ridiculous amount of weight that’s been impossible for me to lose.”

“Oh dear! I’m so sorry you have to live like this. Were you triggered yesterday?”

“Yes I was! I saw you going out and about in your black Toyota Corolla and living your life like a normal human being. I became jealous, so I attacked you. I can’t believe I did that!”

“I’m sorry I made you jealous. That wasn’t my intention. Can we be friends?!”

“Yes! I need a friend. I need to better myself! Hopefully you can keep me in check and motivate me to get a job. Can I go back to my apartment to grab something and then come back to your place?!”

“Of course!”, Raffy replied.

A couple minutes later, Natan returned to Raffy’s suite with his 8 x 11” black spiral sketchbook and drawing utensils in his hands. Natan was prepared to share his innate artistic talent with his new mate.

“These are the sketches I made. After I was diagnosed with severe PTSD, drawing became my therapy. It was the only way I could communicate without being criticized or abused. These are sketches of negative memories I made in the army. I also have a small handful of drawings of weapons, soldiers, cities, landmarks, and maps.”

Surprised by how authentic, realistic, detailed, and professional Natan’s sketches were, Raffy scrutinized them for 3 minutes straight, before spitting out a compliment and an idea.

“I can’t believe you can draw like this!!! I’m beyond amazed by your artistic talent. I am a freelance graphic designer at HodDesignz & Co. It's a freelance graphic designer company that my girlfriend and I own in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv. My girlfriend and I are currently looking to hire a graphic designer, and I believe you would be an ideal candidate. You don’t need to have any formal education. You only need to be a natural artist and designer. Are you interested in being a part of the team?!

“Yes sir! My dream is to be a graphic designer, and hopefully you can help me chase that dream sooner than later!”

“Fantastic! Why don’t we meet at my office tomorrow at noon?!”

“Of course! See you then!”

After the two men shook hands and bid farewell, Natan made his way back to his unit. He was over the moon. A few minutes after the unexpected visit and job offer, Natan took his white sneakers off his sweaty feet, retreated to the kitchen to help himself to a can of Diet Coke, and settled himself into the living room to finish watching Maktub, an Israeli movie he discovered on Netflix.

Natan hasn’t seen the bright light at the end of his tunnel in over 20 years, so the beginning of a new life was a big deal for him. A new beginning meant no more chugging down bottles of liquor on the sofa, no more being a couch potato, no more depending on family or friends to take him out, no more living on welfare, and no more feeling jealous of people who live fruitfully.

March 14th, 2024: Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv, Israel

After a long nights sleep, Natan woke up to the alluring sound of ocean waves, vehicles driving, and normal city life. As a new businessman, he was required to wear office clothes: a white button down shirt, an optional tie, black dress pants, and black leather loafers. Natan’s plus-size white button down shirt and black dress pants, his beloved black leather loafers and most cherished blue and white tie sat unnoticed in his closet for the last 15 years. It was time to get it out and wear it on his first day of a new, exciting, fulfilling job as a freelance graphic designer.

All dressed up in his plus-size business outfit, Natan fished for his bottle of styling cream in the washroom, squeezed a small handful of styling cream into the palm of his right hand, and lathered it into his thick, puffy, wavy brown hair. As he put on his blue sunglasses and looked at himself in the mirror, he said something that he never said to himself.

“Now I look like someone the ladies will go after! Do you think I’ll get a girlfriend soon?! I hope a cute woman will want to go out with me!”

On his way out, he grabbed his hot, milky, sweet-scented, caramel-flavoured coffee and his crispy chocolate protein bar. Ready to get rocking and rolling, he skipped out the door. He was in seventh heaven.

“Today’s going to be rainbows and sunshine!”, Natan exclaimed.

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