Reaction to You'll Apologize if you have to.

What we're more interested in is what the stories do, what they imply, how successful they are at creating a problem and then resolving that problem, how well they create characters who live and breathe and make us believe in this.

I enjoyed reading this short story. When I first started reading it I didn't really get into it until maybe towards the middle of it when I was reading the conversation between Wallace and Kim. I found myself getting interested when I was reading about Wallace's relationship with his daughter Molly and that they didn't have much dialog together but you can understand how their relationship has been. His relationship with his daughter is relatable for a lot of people with careers that take over all their time and end up not spending any of their time with their kids.

In response to what this story has, I like how the problems of the story is quickly addressed and recognizable. As a fighter, you give up your mind, body and soul thus creating a lot of strain on your personal life. Most fighters have that support system and balance but what do you do when you don't? I like that this story gives you that idea on what's goes on with a fighter after he had lost his fight. It's written perfectly to me actually. I like that you read about how he handles losing the fight and how it affects the people around him. How Wallace tries to seek comfort from his ex Kim and his daughter Molly whom shows no interest in being there. His daughter's reaction of him being there was expected after he had missed spending time with her last week and that she was acting very hesitant and reluctant towards him. I'm sure fathers that has to travel a lot for work and not be there for their kids is hard on them.

The story's main focus or problem involves Wallace's stubbornness with dealing with his loss in a match-up during his visit in Florida. After three days of sulking, Wallace initiates his day with smoking marijuana by a building across his home and he was approached by an existing tenant at that building. They have an altercation because the man "with the green coat" wanted him to not smoke by his building because the smell of the drug is bothering him and his family. Later, Wallace feels terrible and confides in his ex about the fight he had with the guy, but this does nothing for him and makes him feel worse.

He goes to his coach and discusses about his career. He later realizes that he's tired of fighting after speaking to his coach and convinces him it might be time to retire. This kind of being a solution to the original problem.

During that conversation on page 94 paragraph 6 the writer wrote "All he needed was a little while to collect himself... He needed some time to figure some things out, and he knew he wasn't going to get it" This line spoke a lot to me because I can believe how many times I say this to myself on a daily basis and many others probably do as well. This made Wallace a real character because often we want to have time for ourselves to figure out a solution to any problem that we are going through but cannot due to priorities and responsibilities. This was beautifully written making the story so successful at letting us continue believing in the characters.

Eventually, Wallace decides to let go of the fight and also apologize to the man with the green coat, but instead end up having a conversation with the man's wife as he waited for the man to come back home. In midst conversation, you're informed that the man was in the room during the conversation and kind of leaves off a cliff-hanging feel and have you guessing whether or not Wallace will be able to convince or apologize to this man before this man comes at him.

The line at the end closes us with believing Wallace is in peace because of the imagery of the ocean being delightful to him.