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She followed my gaze. “What is that?”

“Reindeer sausage.”

Confusion. Recognition. Horror. “You’re lying.”

“No, there’s a card.”

“Poor Rudolph.”

“Want to try it?”

“Hell no.” She shook her head. “I’m not eating that.”

“Scared?”

“No, civilized. If there was nothing else to eat and we were in some survival situation and I hadn’t eaten in a week, maybe then.”

“You’re no fun. You’re just chicken.”

“Why would I eat that when I have some of the freshest, yummiest salmon I’ve ever eaten?”

“Because we’re on an adventure.”

“We are?”

“Bawk, bawk, bawk.”

“You’re a child.”

I stared at her.

“Fine,” she said finally. “I’ll try it if you try it.”

“Deal.”

I reached for the platter, serving us each a small portion of the reindeer sausage. It looked like regular sausage, just meat in a casing, same as anything else.

“On three?” I said.

“On three.”

We picked up our forks in unison. I counted to three.

We both took a bite.

The flavor hit me immediately. Rich, gamey but not overwhelmingly so. Sage and maybe pepper. Slightly crispy on the outside and juicy within.

“Oh,” Lucy said, her eyes widening. “That’s actually…”

“Pretty damn good.” I nodded.

“Really good.” She took another bite, then another. “What the hell? Why is reindeer sausage this good?”

“Because you were being dramatic about nothing. As usual.”

I laughed, and she laughed too. Suddenly we were just two friends having dinner in a beautiful lodge in Alaska. We ate our meal, both pleasantly surprised by how good it all was. We could have been sitting in a fancy restaurant in LA.

I noticed one of the lodge staff hovering near our end of the table more than necessary. A pretty brunette with a friendly smile and eyes that kept finding their way to me. She refilled my water glass twice. Asked if I needed anything else at least three times but never asked anyone else.