As the meal went on, Dan still had to watch, whether he liked it or not. Whenever his emotions started to arise, such as jealousy or anger, he worked to redirect his thoughts. After all, everyone else was enjoying themselves, so why shouldn't he? He worked hard to enjoy the meal and conversation, even from his vantage point.
"So, Mrs. Johnson?" started Kat. "Kat, please, you can call me Sarah now..." she answered. "Sorry, Sarah.... So tell me, how did you get this deer? What was it like to shoot it?" continued Kat... "I never really heard the whole story." "Well," Sarah said, "Steve here's been working with me on my target practice, so I knew just where to aim. It was opening day of deer season. I walked out that morning, down around the corner and into the woods. Set myself down in the brush just off a trail there. It was such a beautiful day. Sun shining on my face, a gentle cool breeze. Couldn't have been sitting there but maybe a half hour when I heard this deer come walking through. When I saw that it was a big buck, I couldn't believe my luck. I slowly raised my rifle up and took aim, keeping my sights set on it's heart area. He just happened to stop right in front of me... I flipped the safety off to prepare for my shot. It heard that, but too late! Haha! Just as he tried to kick off to run, I squeezed the trigger and POW, dropped him right there. It was hilarious the way he fell... He thought he was gonna run! Nope! Haha. Lights out, bud!"
"Wow," said Kat. "How did you feel?" "Oh my God," replied Sarah, "It was awesome! It felt so good to take a buck like this. I was just shaking with excitement. Took a minute for it all to sink in, but I was really quite proud of myself!" "Did you feel bad at all?" asked Kat. "Oh, no, not a bit. With so many hunters in the area, a buck like this was gonna be a goner anyway... And I love cooking with venison. I just always hope for a clean kill, you know. I'd hate to see an animal suffer" said Sarah. "True," said Kat, "I know what you mean." "But this one," Sarah continued, "He definitely didn't suffer. Not a bit. I placed my shot and blew his heart apart haha. He never knew what hit him." "That's great," replied Kat, "You should be proud!" "Oh I am," said Sarah. And I am so glad we had the head mounted. I see it there on the wall every day, and it's just such a happy memory."
Dan thought to himself "Didn't suffer? Ha, she really doesn't know about Kat, does she? Oh well, not Sarah's fault I guess..."
Dan watched as they finished their meal, cleared the table and ate dessert. Dan focused on Sarah. He studied her mouth, and how she chewed and enjoyed her food. He watched her posture, gestures, and listened to her voice. He thought maybe he could just try to be proud of how happy he helped to make her.
Just then Sarah spoke up again, "Kat, you know what's funny?" "What's that?" "Well, I was just thinking, although I love the head hanging here on my dining room wall, it's just a little bit weird in a way, you know?" "How so?" inquired Kat. "Well," she answered, "That shop does such good work, it looks so realistic and lifelike, you know? I kind of feel like our dinner was watching us eat it, haha. Of course I know it's not, but still..."
"That's funny," said Kat, "What would you say to it, if it really was watching?" Sarah turned toward Dan and said "It was nice having you for dinner... So glad you could join us!" Everyone laughed.
As hard as Dan was trying to be positive, that got him. Not what Sarah said, of course, she didn't know. But Kat... She knew what she was doing to Dan, and she was just having fun rubbing it in now. She giggled again, looked at Dan and said "Yeah, thanks DEER!" Everyone laughed again.