A week went by, then two. Did I go too far too fast? Owen thought. He didn’t think so. He was just being nice. It was too much to expect her to say yes immediately. She could be afraid of offending Nathan.

He heard the phone ring as he was cleaning up his house one a Saturday. It was Agnes. She had called to tell that the school was closed for a week during Thanksgiving and whether his invitation was still good.

“Off course it is,” Owen said in all seriousness. “I close my office for a couple of days before the big day. It’s light time of the year anyway. Sure, come on over.”

“I’ll call Jodi. See if I can impose on her.”

“No need to bother her. I have a big house. You can stay with me. You can have the spare bedroom.”

“That’s so sweet of you.”

“Well, normally I go to Pauls Valley to visit my Mom and Dad. This year I will skip it if you want to come.”

“You really want to do that? Aren’t they going to miss you?”

“They will. But I’m not a kid anymore. They’ll understand.”

Owen and Agnes spent the Thanksgiving at home. Owen used his culinary skills to cook the turkey and the trimmings. Agnes helped in preparations and set up. They talked and talked about Malawi, their new lives now that they were back in the USA. Agnes really didn’t want to go anywhere sightseeing, preferring to stay indoors. They did catch up on old Charlie Chaplin, Marx Brothers movies and laughed their hearts out while sipping Cabernet.

For Owen being with Agnes was so much different from Rachel. Rachel was sweet and he had liked her but he was bothered by her prickly health and she seemed lost in her thoughts about her family. Agnes had a sense of humor. She participated in conversations and had a hearty laugh to put Owen at ease.