I was able to reach Karen at home, so it was a good thing she was. Since Christmas is nearing, I thought it would be nice for us to get together.
I ended up calling Karen. She isn't at my house when I made the call.
It also didn't take her long to pick up the telephone.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Karen."
"Hi, Ralph. I wasn't expecting to hear from you."
"I was just thinking of you, and this somehow is more of an invitation."
"What sort of invitation is this you want to share?"
Before answering her question, I cleared my throat. I put the phone down and found a fresh glass and poured some water and gulped it down. I left the glass of water on the counter.
"Are you still there, Ralph?"
"Yes. I was just thirsty, that's all. My invitation to you is that I would want you and the boys for Christmas. What do you think?"
"I like the idea. I will pass this on to Jay and Norman and I will get back to you. How does that sound?"
"There is no rush to get back to me. I shall be home when you call again. Give the boys a hug from me."
"I will, Ralph."
It isn't often she calls me that. To her, it's mostly Ralphie, and I don't mind being called that since my father called me that as well, but Karen somehow picked that one up from him.
"I have to go, Ralph. I got to pick up the boys from a friend's house. It is getting close to dinner."
When she said that, I looked at the clock. It turned out she was right about getting late in the evening.
"I should like to hear from you when you have an answer. Like I just said, give the boys a hug."
"I will do that. Have a nice evening."
"To you also."
After that, the conversation ended.