Is there a vacancy

Garvin was never going to do this, again. Attempt homemade cup cakes. He looked at the mess. If only he had a dog who could clean this up.

He stared at the red velvet cake in the muffin tin. Then he looked over at the cupcake fillers on the counter. That's what he'd forgotten. He sighed, but someone tapped on the backdoor.

"Leo?" Well, not just everyday Leo, but model girl Leo. Actually, female sexy Leo.  Garvin couldn't look him in the eye. He showed him the mess right away.

"I don't know why I wanted to make a cake. Actually,I  wanted to make a heart shape cake for Abel, but then again, he probably has more heart shaped boxes of candy than he knows what to do with." He told Leo he was going over to his brother's for dinner. "I guess its a pot luck. They invited some friends..and family, which is only me."

He kept his arms crossed, thinking his brother probably wished he wasn't family. Then he wouldn't have to invite him.

"But oh well..I guess, Abe will be happy to see me, so he can laugh at the cupcakes."

"Whats the matter with them?" Leo stared at the tin of the white iced cup cakes.

"I can't get them out of the tin." Garvin shrugged.

Martha guessed it was Valentines day weekend. They'd made the most of it. She and Brice. Dinner. Dancing, now a good old potluck at Dorian and Ruben's. There were a houseful. But no Garvin. Why did she even care that he wasn't here?

Abe was showing her all his art projects. Lego village included.

They were in a winter thaw of sorts, but it was so windy. They stayed indoors with the instrumental music playing and lots of dips and chips to get into.

Yes, they talked about her May wedding. Right around the corner. She guessed it was soon, although, it felt so far in the future, sometimes.

Finally, the doorbell rang. The last to arrive with a boxed ice cream cake from the DQ, and Garvin was not alone. He brought a date.

"This is my friend Leo." Garvin left it at that.

His date was stunning. Martha suddenly felt like leftovers, of some kind. But Leo was rather quiet and followed Garvin, who got them both diet sodas.

"Do you know her?" She asked Lena, who shook her head, no. "I bet she's not even from around here. I bet she's Swedish."

Lena let a chuckle give way. "You're not jealous, are you?" Lena asked.

"Of course, not." Martha practically hissed. She wouldn't dare make a scene. Still, she should have expected it. This Leo looked perfect for Garvin. Maybe she hadn't underestimated him, after all.