The rest of the school day passed uneventfully, and Ty was looking forward to the evening, though as usual, he was dreading the bus ride home. But he remembered that Dustin was being nice to him, so maybe it would be fine.
Ty and Dustin both reached the bus at about the same time, Dustin said hello, and Ty replied in kind. The trip passed quickly, with Ty daydreaming about Lisa. He considered how lucky he was that she had decided to stay with him, even if it had taken a wish (at HER request!) to make it happen.
They got home, and Dustin asked Ty whether he'd like to play video games. Ty still couldn't figure out whether Dustin's behavior was out of fear, or if he was just making a genuine attempt to be nice. Maybe both? Ty replied, "Thanks, but if you don't mind, I'll take a rain check. I want to get my homework done early."
"Sure, Ty. We'll do it another time," Dustin said. "It will be fun to check out the new games you gave me."
Ty went upstairs to his bedroom, sat at his desk, and opened his textbook. It was still a bit tough to concentrate, knowing that Lisa would arrive soon, but he powered through and got his assignments completed.
Not long after that, Ty heard his mother's car pull into the garage. He went down to meet her. Seeing that she had two grocery bags in the car, he said, "Hi, Mom! I'll carry those in for you."
"Thanks, Ty," June said.
"Lisa said she'd be here at about 6 PM. Could you use any help with preparing for dinner?"
"After the groceries are put away, I'm going to sit down for a moment, but there's nothing I need you to do, unless you'd like to set the table."
"Sure, Mom, I'll be glad to," Ty said. He observed that June was being nice to him, but not in quite as obvious or uncharacteristic a manner as Dustin had been.
Just before 6, Mark arrived home, and they greeted each other. Unless he had reason to be angry with Ty, Mark usually just grinted a "hi" and ignored him. Today, though, Mark asked, "How was school?"
"Oh, about the usual. I finished my homework just a bit ago. How was your day?"
"Not bad," Mark said, "but the boss still hasn't decided which of us to assign to the new Marshall account. It's a big deal, and I'm hoping he'll pick me, because it could lead to a promotion."
Ty was surprised, because Mark sometimes discussed things like that with June over dinner, but had never really discussed work with Ty. "I hope your boss recognizes what a dedicated employee you are," Ty said. He even surprised himself by saying that. He'd never especially taken an interest in Mark's talk of his job, but them, neither of them usually said much to each other, aside, from Mark giving orders, and Ty saying, "Yes sir!" He hoped that this new kind of interaction was something he could look forward to more of in the future.
Mark said, "Excuse me; I'll let June know I'm home."
"Sure, Dad!" That was new, too. Mark usually just kicked off his shoes, sat in the recliner, turned on the TV, and yelled for someone to get him a beer.