Dustin and their parents went upstairs, so Ty sat on the sofa. When Lisa had called him, he'd scribbled her number on the pad next to the phone. Now he tore the top sheet off, and called the number. A woman's voice answered, but it wasn't Lisa. "May I please speak to Lisa," he asked.
The vo8ce asked, "May I tell her who's calling?"
He replied, "Ty. I'm a friend from school."
"I'll get her; just a moment." He heard the phone being set down.
"Ty! I'm so glad to hear from you," Lisa said. "Is everything alright?"
"Things are pretty good," he replied. "My family would like you to come to dinner at our house tomorrow. Can you make it?"
"Did you talk things over with them," Lisa asked, "or did you have to..."
"Yes, we talked," Ty confirmed.
"And everything is sorted out? Things are cool now?"
"We still have some a few more details to work out, but the worst of it is over," he said, though he was actually somewhat uncertain about that. "They mostly 5ook it well."
"Great! I'll check with my parents about tomorrow. Hold on for just a moment." Ty waited patiently, and soon she returned. "Mom and Dad said yes, as long as I'm not out late. And they want to meet you. Can you come to our house for dinner on Friday night?"
"I'll have to check with my parents. Is it OK if I let you know tomorrow?"
"Sure, that's fine," Lisa said. "I can't wait to see you again. And I'll have a small favor to ask."
"Oh, what's that?"
"Don't worry about it. We'll talk tomorrow."
"OK. Love you!" Ty said.
"Love you too! Bye now!" She replied, and they hung up.
Ty had something to look forward to, for the first time in... years?
He tried to think about finishing the family discussion, about the "changes around here", but it was difficult as he was distracted with thoughts of Lisa.
After a while, Mark and June came back down, and Ty let them know that Lisa had accepted the invitation. "Thank you for this!"
"You're welcome, honey," June said. I')) start planning a meal. Do you know what kind of food she likes?"
"Um, not really, mom," Ty said, chagrined. "We haven't gone out on a date or anything, so the subject hasn't come up yet."
"Shall we finish up," Mark asked, then called Dustin down to join them. They all sat, somewhat nervously, not sure who should talk first.