Mark, June, and Ty got in the car, and Mark drove them to Lisa's house. Ty rang the doorbell, and reached behind his back to create a bouquet of flowers. Since Lisa's parents were now fully aware of his powers, they wouldn't be too impressed by the gesture, but that was OK.
Maria answered the door, and greeted them. "Come on in!" she said. "Thank you for coming!" She led to the living room, where she took the bouquet and set it on the coffee table. "Diego will be here shortly." They sat, and exchanged general pleasantries.
Diego entered the room and greeted them. Mark and Ty stood, but Diego said, "No, no, don't stand on my account," then sat next to Maria. "As you know," he said, "we grounded Lisa, and told Ty and Lisa that they were not allowed to see each other for a week. As far as we know, they have honored our wishes, but over dinner last night, Lisa tried to convince us to lift the grounding early. She had clearly thought over what they had done quite a bit, which was part of the point to the grounding, and she presented arguments in support of lifting the grounding.
"We're happy that she spent time thinking things over, but she didn't make any points that Maria and I hadn't already considered, so we aren't inclined to lift the grounding prematurely. However, we did consider that Ty might want to discuss things with us as well, hence tonight's invitation. We would have invited you to stay for dinner also, but we weren't sure whether having you present might make Ty reticent to discuss things."
"We understand," said Mark, "and we appreciate your giving Ty this chance to discuss things with you. We don't mind giving him a little privacy for the discussion, and we have our own dinner plans, but we want you, Maria, and Lisa to come to our house for dinner next week."
"Thank you," said Diego. "We'll look forward to that."
Ty said, "As you know, Lisa and I are keeping some details of things that we've done to ourselves, for privacy, but aside from those details, we're willing to discuss things with all of you, my parents as well as hers. I want to thank all four of you for being understanding and supportive."
"Speaking of which," Diego said, turning to Maria, "where is Lisa? Didn't she hear the door?"
"I'll go get her," said Maria, and left the room.
It wasn't like Lisa to not greet Ty at the front door, when she knew Ty was coming. Ty grew a little apprehensive. He hoped there wasn't any problem. He'd already had to solve too many problems just recently. His worries were apparently unfounded, though, as Maria returned with Lisa, who greeted everyone then sat. Lisa had dressed up, and Ty complimented her on her appearance.
They all chatted for a while, then Mark stood, followed by June. "If you'll please excuse us, I think we'll be going now."
June added, "It's lovely to visit you, and we look forward to seeing you again next week."
They all stood, and Maria saw June and Mark to the door. As she returned, she said, "If everyone is ready, let's go to the dining room, and I'll serve dinner. It's nothing fancy, I'm afraid. We have a tossed green salad, pot roast with potatoes, and dinner rolls."
"That sounds great," said Ty, as they went to the dining room. "You don't ever need to make anything fancy on my account. I have simple tastes, and every meal I've had with you has been wonderful. I'm sure this will be no exception. Now, can I help you with anything?"
"No thank you, Ty," Maria said. "Just have a seat." She and Diego started bringing the dishes in from the kitchen.
Ty said to Lisa, "You can't imagine how much I've missed you! These few days have seemed like ages!"
"I actually do have a pretty good idea," Lisa said, "because I've felt exactly the same way."
Maria and Diego sat, and started serving the food.