[BL] Mr. Romano Contracted Husband-Chapter 88: Being a Good Neighbor

One afternoon, Julian had just returned home from shopping at the grocery store. On his way home, he saw his neighbors on the right side of his house who had just picked up their daughter from day care.

He approached them to say hello, as they were close neighbors.

"Hello, Clara!" he said.

The woman turned and smiled at him while carrying her 2 year old child.

"Oh, hello, Julian. Did you just get back from shopping?" she asked.

"Yes, I just finished shopping. Oh, look at your daughter Amanda, she’s so cute. Hey Amanda." This time he greeted the little girl.

"Hi!" With a sweet smile on her face, Amanda waved her little hand.

She looked so cute that Julian’s heart melted every time he saw them.

They chatted for a while in front of Clara’s house, until suddenly a call came in on her cell phone. She asked Julian to wait a moment while she answered the phone.

Her face, which had been smiling, suddenly lost its smile and looked panicked. This made him feel confused, wondering what kind of call his neighbor was receiving at that moment. Amanda, who didn’t understand anything, tried to grab her mother’s cell phone.

However, Clara pulled away from Amanda and focused on the call. Julian helped keep an eye on the girl so she wouldn’t wander too far from her mother while she was on the phone.

’It seems very important. But what is it really?’ he thought at that moment.

When the phone finally hung up, Clara turned to Julian and held his hand.

"Julian!"

"Y-yes?!" The man responded in surprise when his hand was suddenly gripped so tightly.

Clara looked into his eyes, pleading with him.

"I need your help!"

******

At 6:16 p.m., Arcane came home from school after a teachers’ meeting. He walked in and took off his shoes. When he entered the house, he heard the TV on.

Thinking that Julian must be watching TV, he went to the living room to meet his husband first.

However, instead of being greeted by his husband, a little girl ran towards him and stood in front of him.

"Hi!" said the girl innocently, waving her tiny hand.

Arcane was quite surprised because he didn’t know whose child was in front of him. And why was there a little girl in his house when he and Julian didn’t have any children?

The man then knelt in front of the girl. Of all the friends he knew who had children, Hans’ daughter didn’t look like this child.

"Hans even has a 3 year old daughter. She also knows me, but this child..."

"Oh hey, you’re home? Amanda, come here and continue watching TV~" said Julian.

"Yeaay!" Little Amanda then ran back into the living room, leaving Arcane still kneeling while staring at Julian with a confused look on his face.

Finally, the man explained that Amanda was Clara’s daughter. Because Arcane was busy working, he rarely saw Amanda around their house. Meanwhile, Julian, because he was often at home, often chatted with Clara and Amanda.

"This afternoon, Clara received a call that her mother had been admitted to the hospital. She fell in the bathroom and has not regained consciousness yet. So she left Amanda with us!" he explained.

"Doesn’t she have a husband named Toni? Why doesn’t her husband take care of their child?" asked Arcane as he loosened his tie and placed it on the table, watching Amanda who was busy sitting on the carpet watching her favorite cartoons.

"Her husband is out of town on business for three days. He can’t come home suddenly to take care of his daughter, and Clara doesn’t have any close relatives living around here. And I’m the only one she trusts."

Hearing all that, Arcane began to understand the situation. However, he was worried that the two of them might not be competent enough to take care of a two year old child.

Julian explained again that Clara had taught him how to change diapers and some other things Amanda needed.

"She even made a list of Amanda’s daily schedule and what she can and cannot eat!"

"But are you sure you can take care of her by yourself? You know I’ll be busy at school from morning to evening. That means you’ll be the one spending time with her," Arcane asked worriedly.

He knew very well that Julian was quite careless about some things. But the man assured him that he could do it well.

"Please, I want to take care of Amanda while her mother is in the hospital taking care of her grandmother..." He held Arcane’s arm while pleading, and that immediately softened his heart.

Moreover, he also knew that Julian had always been very affectionate towards children. This was evident from how he interacted with Luciana.

"All right. I will allow you to take care of Amanda since she is already in our house. But you must remember your responsibilities, because being a parent is not an easy thing." He replied while warning him about the noble but difficult task.

"Don’t worry! I’ll take good care of her."

He then walked over and sat on the carpet, lifting Amanda’s tiny body onto his lap and watching cartoons together. Arcane couldn’t help but smile. He stood up from the sofa and rolled up his sleeves to start cooking dinner in the kitchen.

This time, he made two different dishes, one for him and Julian, and another for Amanda. He looked at the list left by Clara and made a menu based on what was on the list.

As they enjoyed their dinner, Amanda ate heartily. She really liked the food Arcane had made.

"How is it, Amanda? Does Arcane’s cooking taste good?" asked Julian as he gently wiped Amanda’s messy mouth.

The little girl nodded, her blue hair covering her face.

"It’s delicious!" she replied as she continued to enjoy her meal.

Arcane sighed, then took a hair tie from Amanda’s bag in the living room and tied her hair into a ponytail so it wouldn’t cover her face.

"That’s better. Now finish your food," he said, gently stroking her head.

The girl nodded again and ate her dinner. Julian and Arcane smiled, seeing how easy Amanda was to manage. Most children her age would be afraid to be around strangers and far from their mothers.

After dinner, they went to watch TV for a while. During that time, she kept talking about all the things she did at daycare that day.

"Then I made a caterpillar shape with clay... Then I played with my friends!" she said enthusiastically.

"Really? That must have been so much fun!"

Arcane was focused on his laptop, occasionally turning his head and smiling at Julian, who was so happy. Nothing else could make him happier at that moment than seeing his husband happy too.