“Hey, Aunt Maryanne!” Alana said into her phone. “How are you?”
“Everything is fine, thanks! And you?”
“Okay.”
“I was actually hoping to ask a favor from you.”
“Uh huh?” No wonder her aunt called out of the blue. She seldom saw her apart from the occasional family gathering on holidays.
“My niece, Amanda, needs someone to look after her. I have a mandatory meeting I need to go to later, and everyone else is busy. We were all hoping she could get to know more family instead of going to the day care or getting a babysitter. She’s really shy, but I think she’ll warm up to you if she knows you’re family.”
“Oh!” Alana blinked. My aunt has a niece? “Sure, that sounds okay, but—”
“Great!” Aunt Maryanne chirped. “How about we meet at that café we went to last time in an hour? See you!”
And before Alana could say anything else, her aunt had hung up. She stared at her phone for a moment, her lips parted slightly. She sighed softly and dropped the cell phone back in her bag.
I hope Amanda will be okay with Gino, she thought, her heart thudding at the thought of seeing her boyfriend later that day after his quick meeting with friends.
She arrived at the café some time later, eyes scanning the inside as she walked up to the door. The bell on the door handle jingled as she stepped into the toasty room.
“Hey!”
Alana turned to see her Aunt Maryanne, who was shorter than her own five foot three inches. But her round, smiling face and twinkling eyes made Alana grin back at her.
“Thank you for doing this.” Her aunt pulled her in for a tight hug and moved away to get her coffee off of the table nearby.
“It’s no problem,” Alana shrugged, and her hazel eyes glanced over at a small figure behind her aunt, which promptly darted behind Maryanne’s leg.
“Here, let’s go outside.” Aunt Maryanne led her outside of the café to a bench and sat down. Alana saw a young girl huddle beside her aunt’s leg, but she was so small that the majority of her body and face was blocked.
“Amanda?” Her aunt asked kindly, turning to the little girl. “This is unni.”
Alana smiled. She knew her aunt was only using the “big sister” term to make things more comfortable for Amanda, even though they weren’t directly related.
The girl slowly peeked around Aunt Maryanne, and Alana had to resist saying “Awww” out loud. She was an adorable little girl. Her dark eyes were large and her lips pouty. Her short and soft, black hair was tied into two pigtails that flopped like a dog’s ears as she streaked behind Alana’s aunt once again.
“Amanda,” Aunt Maryanne admonished gently. “She’s going to look after you while I go to work. Don’t you want to say hi to unni?”
Alana couldn’t exactly see what the little girl was doing since her aunt was blocking her, but she had a feeling that Amanda was shaking her head considering her aunt’s response.
“She has to watch over you, Amanda. Come on, say hi.”
Amanda peeked behind Aunt Maryanne again and waved her tiny hand at Alana before swiftly hiding again. Alana smiled and walked over to her aunt and waved back, “Hey, Amanda.”
The girl blinked her wide eyes at her and she swore she saw the girl’s lips twitch into a small smile.
“Do you want to hold hands with unni?” Aunt Maryanne asked Amanda kindly, after a moment.
YOU ARE READING
Because I Love You
Romance(Sequel to I Love that You're in My Life) It's been three years since Alana and Gino last kissed and parted on that beach. Gino's business in New York and constant absences led their relationship to break off. Since then, Alana has focused on her...
