Dan wished he could look away, but of course a mounted deer head can't do that. He was forced to watch as Kat lovingly put the last bite of the jerky strip she was eating into Jack's mouth, and embraced him with a kiss.
Before long, he watched Steve bring out dishes and set the table, while Kat and Jack set various side dishes out and pour drinks. With everyone else seated at the dinner table, Sarah carried out a delicious looking venison roast on a platter and set it on the center of the table.
Finally, Sarah sat down as well. "Thanks for joining us again Kat." "Thanks for having me again," she replied.
Dan watched as Steve carved the roast and set portions on everyone's plates. He watched everyone load up their plates with delicious looking sides and pour gravy over their helpings of his former self. He saw them pray and then begin to eat, clearly enjoying every bite.
Dan quickly became jealous of humans in general, as it continued to sink in that they had free will, lives to live and love to share, while he was simply here now as both food and decor for them. But he also observed how genuinely happy these four looked, while they conversed and ate their dinner.
He thought to himself, "Well, there's clearly no getting out of this one, is there?" As he watched everyone stuff another forkfull of his meat and gravy into their mouths he continued to think, and even laugh to himself, "nope. This is it baby." Kat licked her lips and cast him a quick glance and a slight smile, that no one else noticed. Was she hearing his thoughts?
"In any case," he thought, "I've got to find a way to deal with my predicament. As disgusting as it sounded initially, I may have to suck it up and learn to live vicariously through others. I mean, otherwise I have no purpose, and that just sucks. I suppose my purpose now is to bring enjoyment and sustenance to others by being their food."
Dan watched Sarah chew, clearly proud of herself for providing this meal to her family. He watched Steve take another bite, giving Sarah a wink. He watched Jack help himself to seconds, put his arm around Kat and kiss her on the cheek. And he looked at Kat. He knew he had to try to forgive her. He saw the way she was smiling and looking at Jack, and tried his very best to be happy for her. She reached over with her fork, took a bite of roast off of Jack's plate, put in in her mouth and chewed slowly. As she finished chewing, she cast Dan another quick glance and a smile. She was glad that her meal had finally accepted its place.