Always at my side

....."Dad, do you see it?" my teeth clattered. I felt as if I were an icicle.

....."No where is it?" he asked as he was waking from a brief nap.

....."Right there. Can't you see it!" I said softly, afraid of spooking the deer away.

.....I can't believe he can't see it, I thought to myself. It's right there. "You still don't see it?" I

whispered.

....."No. Is it behind the tree?" he asked.

....."Just give me the gun."

....."Okay, but be careful. Do you know where to shoot?"

....."Yes Dad! Now give me the gun." I said anxiously.

....."Just don't tear up the good meat," he advised, with that don't-tear-it-up-or-I'll-kill-ya, look on

his face.

.....It was only a little deer, but we had already decided that I could kill it if I had a chance. This

was my chance. I looked at Dad, who was a very quiet man, with thick brown hair, silver-framed

glasses, and gentle blue eyes. He looked so anxious so I slowly took the gun. He acted as if he

was going to kill a 200 lb., 20 point buck, that chilly November evening. The birds were chirping,

the wind was blowing, and the squirrels were cutting on the hickory nuts; everything seemed

perfect. This deer was meant to be mine. Seconds seemed to be minutes, and minutes seemed to

be hours, as I sat there holding the enormous 30-06 deer rifle, waiting for the perfect shot. As I

looked throughout the scope, it made everything larger; the trees, the bushes, the deer, and the

nervousness. Dad still hadn't seen the deer that was camouflaged in with the ground. The deer just

seemed to be part of the dried up weeds, the leaves and the bark on the trees. As my hands began

to shake and my eyes seemed to lose my focus on the deer, many thoughts ran through my head.

What if I miss the deer? Will Dad be mad? Will everyone laugh at me? I just won't tell anyone that

I shot at one. No one has to know of I miss it. It will just be between Dad and I. I know he won't

tell anyone. But if I do kill it, the whole world is going to know. All the boys at school, Mamaw

and Papaw, Amber Le, my friends, Mom, and the rest of the family.

.....As my hand began to quiver anxiously and my heart continued to beat harder and faster, I

slowly moved my scared little fingers down toward the trigger.

.....Dad whispered, "Turn off the safety."

.....I'm glad he had briefed me on the gun before we left to go hunting, because I almost forgot

where it was anyway. My mind was set on one thing, and that was killing the deer. I slowly clicked

off the safety, and then lowered my hand back down on the trigger.

....."Bang!" the sound of the gunshot echoed through the valley.

....."Now do you see it?" I asked Dad eagerly, as I looked through the woods to see a helpless

deer lying on the blood-covered ground.

....."Yes, I see it."

.....Thank goodness, I was beginning to wonder if he was going blind, I though to myself, not

brave enough to say it out loud. "Well, is it dead?" I firmly asked, as we got up off of the ground. I

leaned against a tree to help myself and slowly shook around to loosen up my frozen body.

....."No, but it isn't going anywhere." he replied.

.....As Dad and I slowly walked to where the crippled deer was lying, I thought of the memorable

times Dad and I had spent together. I can remember the times when a cow would stray away from

the rest of the herd. Some days it was hot, and other days it was freezing as we went out on a

journey, often times to strictly find the Holstein cow, or maybe to enjoy the peaceful of the

country. Often, we would ride the four-wheeler back to the pond to go fishing, or take a ride in

the truck to see what all of the farmers were doing. Dad was always trying to teach me something

valuable. Something I would need down the road of life. Maybe he was showing me how to drive

the four-wheeler, truck, or tractor. Many times he would teach me things about the cows; why

they wondered off by themselves, or how they chewed there cud seven times. He always made

sure I wouldn't drive too fast or make the wrong assumption about what was wrong with my cow.

.....I can see Dad standing behind the fence as I got up to bat, repeating the same words that I

heard every time I got up to bat. "Keep your shoulders up. Swing level and watch the ball hit the

bat." Dad always showed me ways to perfect the game of softball and the skills of life. I can

remember his taking the dreaded walk to short-stop where I would be lying on the ground. Maybe

my knee was hurt or my arm was broken. Maybe I wasn't hurt at all. But he was always the first

one to be at my side if I was hurt.

....."It isn't dead." Dad said, waking me from my thoughts.

....."Well, what do we do?" I asked Dad, who always seemed to know the best answer.

....."You're going to have to shoot it again."

....."I can't Dad. You do it, please." I begged.

.....I couldn't bear the though of having to shoot it again. That deer didn't do anything to me. How

could I do that? I thought to myself.

.....Dad unwillingly took the gun from my hand. He wanted me to shoot the deer, because I had

shot it first. Then again he realized that little girls have to be little girls sometimes and can't always be

a tom-boy. He put the stock of the gun on his muscular shoulders and his strong hands on the cold

trigger.

....."Bang!" the sound of the gunshot echoed throughout the valley and throughout my head. I killed

an innocent animal, but Dad always goes deer hunting and he is always proud after he kills a deer.

Dad is always happy so why shouldn't I be. A smile slowly came across my face.

....."Let's go get the four-wheeler to drag it out," Dad said.

....."Let's go!" I said skipping away.

.....I did it. We had killed my first deer. Wait until I tell all of my friends at school. The boys will be

so jealous because a girl killed a deer and they didn't.

....."Come on, Dad. You're walking too slow."

.....We took the four-wheeler back, got the deer, and loaded it in to the back of the truck.

....."Let's go to Mamaw and Papaw's Dad. Do you think they will be proud of me?" I asked.

....."Why yea, they will be."

....."Are you proud of me, Daddy?"

....."Yes, honey, I am. I always have been and always will be."

.....My face lit up as I jumped into the passenger seat, right beside Daddy.