Two of a Kind

Chapter 9: Clara Comes Home

You woke up and looked over at Sal. He was still asleep, he looked very peaceful.

Once Sal woke up, you would call Jimmy to bring over Clara. You had your doubts, but not gonna lie, you were kind of excited. You knew Sal was gonna be a good father to her, even though he wasn't her actual father.

The biggest doubt you had was that you didn't want to lead her on, get her too attached and then end up having to abandon her, but the chance of that happening was little to nothing.

You were eating breakfast when you heard Sal yawn in the room over. You went in to check on him and he was just waking up.

"Get up sleepy head! We have to get Clara."

He groaned and rolled over, "I'm tired, Y/N."

"C'mon!!! We have to go before Jimmy leaves for rehab." You dragged him out of bed and the both of you got ready.

You had an extra room in your apartment, so you would turn that into Clara's new room.

Sal picked up your phone and dialed Jimmy, here's goes nothing, you thought, as Jimmy answered on the other end. You put the call on speaker phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi Jimmy.", you answered

"Y/N. It's good to hear from you."

"I'm here too.", Sal interjected.

"Okay. So, we can look after Clara for a bit."

"Great. Thank you so much. If you didn't agree, she would've had to be put in foster care." He thanked you for agreeing to help him out.

You knew the foster care system was not very good, so that was a relief to hear that you would be taking her in.

"I'll bring her over on my way to rehab. I'll bring over her toys, clothes, bed, and all her belongings.", he reassured you, "and also- I have a check for you. It's not free to take care of a child!"

"Um. Okay, thank you!"

"No, thank you! You're doing a lot for me. Really helping me out. I'll be there soon."

It was all happening so quick. It seems just yesterday that Sal confessed his love for you. You only met Jimmy a few months ago and you're taking care of his child now?

...

"Are you ready?", Sal asked you as you were finishing up getting the house in order.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Just a few moments later, there was a knock on the door. It was Jimmy. He had Clara in his hands.

"Hi. Here's Clara." He said, handing the little girl over to Sal, "I have more of her stuff in my car.", he handed you a bin filled with a bunch of stuff, "I'll be right back to get the other stuff." He turned around and started walking away.

"Thanks." You responded as you put the bin down and showed Clara her new room.

"Hi, Clara. Welcome home. This is your room! We can paint the walls your favorite color and we can decorate it however you'd like.", you softly explained to the girl.

"Yay! I want it pink!" She jumped up and down.

"Pink it is.", Sal said, smiling at you.

You opened up the bin and got out some of her belongings. There was a height chair, a bed, some toys, and some clothes.

Jimmy walked in to your apartment with some furniture. There was a white bookcase, a rocking chair, and a toy bin.

He quickly set the room up while you and Sal got to know her and welcome her to your home, he said his goodbyes to Clara, and was on his way.

You didn't know when you would see him again.