So busy were things at work, Gavin barely had time for a sip of coffee and a good-bye kiss. “See you tonight, honey,” he said. “Give Justin a squeeze from me.” And he was out the door.

After dropping Justin off at school, Julia sat in the car and cried. At home she mixed up a batch of muffins, put them in the oven, and called Gavin. “I know you’re on a tight schedule, but can you squeeze me in?”

Julia closed Gavin’s office door. “The fund-raiser conference call just ended,” Gavin said. “The union reps come in in about...” He checked his watch. “Seven minutes.”

“I brought muffins,” Julia said. “Special muffins.”

“They smell great,” Gavin said.

“You know what would go great with muffins?” Julia asked.

“What?”

“Starts with C and rhymes with sock.” Julia gave Gavin her teasing grin.

Gavin grinned back. “Really? I might have said starts with C and rhymes with hunt.”

“Creamy creamy batter,” Julia said. “Comes up so full and fluffy. Nutty nutty nuts. So tasty.”

“Mm,” Gavin said. “These muffins are good.”

“Justin was so cute today,” Julia said. “On the sidewalk up to school there were six puddles, and he splashed in every one.”

“You’re making my lucky sock all wet,” Gavin said. “I’m going to splash your puddle.”

“Oh, yes,” Julia said. “Splash it! Splash it now.”

Gavin splashed it.

The union reps were right on time. Julia was just leaving. “Thank you so much for squeezing me in,” she told Gavin.

“Any time,” Gavin said.

“Pretty girl,” said one of the union reps.

The other pointedly sniffed the air.

“It’s the muffins,” Gavin said. “She makes really great muffins. Try one.”