If you were to ask Joseph L. Beaufort what the best day of his life was, he would obviously tell you the day he met his daughter. But as for the second best, it would be the day he finally won a boxing match.
Nothing that day had predicted good fortune; he'd eaten his normal breakfast, did a load of laundry, and sat on the front steps with Katrina eating popsicles to beat the unbearable August heat. And when he got to the arena, he had put on his uniform, tightened the laces on his boots, and wrapped his fists; all the same as any other day.
He had entered the ring like he would any other day. He had heard those exact same introductions.
"In this corner, we have the WVBA's trooper, our unrelenting jobber, Glass Joe! And in this corner, we have the raging, reckless, Turkish boxer number one, Bald Bull!"
He had begun the match on the wrong foot, as he always did when he fought Bald Bull, allowing him to get the first punch. He had gotten punched into his first knockdown before he could get a single hit in, like every other time.
So what happened?
Simple; Bald Bull had gone in for a Bull Charge once Joe had gotten back up. Frightened and caught off guard, Joe had thrown the hardest punch he could to defend himself.
And then it happened.
Once Joe's fist had connected with Bald Bull's throat, he stumbled back, and flopped over onto the mat. Joe was so shocked at what he just did, he could barely hear Pierce giving the ten count.
"Ten! Knockout!"
The crowd went absolutely wild. They were incredibly surprised; Glass Joe had finally won! After so many years of loss after loss, he did it!
Joe looked around at the entire room. All of those people were cheering for him! He couldn't believe it! The realization finally sunk in, and he raised his arms and gave a jaunty cheer of triumph.
When he had gotten out of the locker room, Katrina and Von Kaiser had rushed him with hugs, kisses, and praises. They were incredibly, enormously proud of him. Joe held his family tight, and brought them along to have a nice dinner.
When their waitress arrived to offer them drinks, Joe and Von Kaiser were surprised to recognize Judy the pharmacist, who explained that she wanted a career where she wasn't constantly fretting over potentially having someone's life in her hands. She brought them each a tall glass of water with lots of ice.
After they had their dinner, with soft cookies for dessert, they arrived back home, where Von Kaiser swept up his lover and carried him upstairs to bed. Curled up and cozy, he kissed his forehead, and whispered to him, "Ich bin stolz auf dich, Joseph." (I'm proud of you, Joseph.)
