December 11th, 12 pm

Autumn sighed, it had taken her a bit longer to get ready today. There wasn't any hurry, especially with Johnny working still. But he'd be coming home today since it was the end of one if his twenty-four hour shifts. Something peculiar happened this morning which sort of threw the young woman off a little. She had been dusting in the spare bedroom that was soon be their baby's room when a cloud of dust was blown towards her. And when she sneezed, she could swear she felt the little pup in her tummy kick! She had been so excited, she called Johnny to tell him!

So it was a good day, in her book. And so even though she'd gotten off on a slow start, everything was pretty normal by now, her hair gently curled and clipped back away from her face so she wouldn't be messing with her bangs the entire time was was tidying up before Johnny got home. She was in a fairly comfortable outfit seeing as she had no plans to go anywhere!

And so she commenced with her cleaning and dusting and all sorts of that sort of dull thing. Her thoughts trailing off to the not too distant future when her days were going to be full of taking care of a baby and then chasing after a toddler and all kinds of family shenanigans. She smiled happily to herself. Well, not that house was tidy and Autumn was feeling a little tired, it was time to start getting things ready for dinner! She marinated some chicken breasts, setting them in the fridge, deciding stir fry would be good tonight!

Tummy growling and seeing as she was already in a convenient location to make some lunch. She studied the interior of the fridge, on hand resting on her rounded tummy. What to eat? She felt like something sour..pickles? No, not in ice cream, but a generous amount of them in her sandwich. And now it was time to relax!

Sometimes, people say that the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful. And, since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Summer Chu liked the snow, but not walking in it. Of course, the second she had moved to Evergreen, her car had decided to be awkward and quit. That was just her luck, but it would be a little while before she could get a new one. She had just started her job at Bennett-Hollstein Banking, at Kaden Bennett's personal assistant. He was a really nice guy, and she loved working for him. The job paid nicely, but the hours were terrible. Sometimes, he would call her in the middle of the night, and other times, she would only see him during the day. She couldn't complain, though. She liked her job, because it gave her the chance to show off the fashion skills she had. She prided herself on dressing nicely every day, and she knew her best friend Autumn knew about this.

Autumn. Oh, how she missed that amazing woman. It had been a few months since she had seen or heard from her, since they had parted ways. Autumn had come to Evergreen, Indiana to sign up for The Vow. Summer couldn't remember when she had first heard about it, but there had been many times where the two sat up late at night, imagining what it would be like to actually do it. Of course, Autumn actually did, and Summer had planned to do it with her. However, when Summer's parents found out about it, they weren't very pleased. In fact, they forbade Summer from ever doing such a thing, and Summer had respected their wishes, because of how much she respected her parents. Still, she didn't let the issue go. She brought it up time and time again, until they finally gave in and paid for her to sign up. Hence, that was why she was walking along the icy sidewalk, her heels silently clicking against the concrete. It was a very good thing that Summer had an inability to fall while walking in heels.

1 Green Street...2 Green Street...3 Green Street...4 Green Street. Summer stopped in front of the small house, though it was almost identical to the rest. This house was more special than the others. It was the home of her best friend Autumn, the one woman that Summer felt she could trust with anything. They had been best friends for as long as either of them could remember, and they had never been separated from each other from this long. Autumn was probably married by now. Lucky woman. Smiling, Summer walked up the front stairs, and once she was standing before the door, she knocked on it, hoping that Autumn was home.

Autumn paused midbite, eyebrows lifting since she was fairly certain someone was at the door. Strange, if it was Johnny, we was bound to come right in and they usually didn't get too many visitors. Must be a door to door salesperson or something of that nature. But still, best answer it! She set down her sandwich, wiping her hands on a dish towel as she past it on the way to the living room.

She found herself moving a little slower these days seeing as it took more energy to get her rounded self from one room to the next and she hated to admit it but after cleaning house like she did this morning, she was feeling tired already. But that didn't stop her from putting on a cheery smile as she opened the door, prepared to greet the person on her porch.

Although the convincing fake smile became all the more real as she set sight upon the young woman standing on the porch! A soft squeal of delight escaped her as she threw her arms around Summer's neck. Her best friend finally made an appearance. "Summer!' She smiled, hugging the girl as tightly as she dared. "What are you doing here? And why didn't you call me?" She demanded with a pout, immediately grasping her hand to pull her into the house.

"I have so much to tell you." She informed her friend, placing the other girl's hand on her tummy as if it wasn't obvious. "I'm having a baby!" She squealed, You're going to be an auntie!" Not by blood but seeing as Autumn didn't have siblings and Summer had always been like a sister, it made sense. "Oh and I have my own house and my husband!" She continued, obviously just babbling but Summer should have been used to Autumn's excited tendencies.

"He's so tall!" She informed her, giggling. "And a firefighter."

Summer began to shiver as she waited at the front door, hoping someone would come and answer it soon. Summer was a tiny girl, and it was cold outside. She had always had trouble staying warm, and as a consequence didn't go outside that often. She was also wearing a dress, but that was her own fault. All she could think about--other than the cold outdoors--was seeing Autumn again for the first time in months. She didn't like being separated from her best friend for such a long time, and what was worse was that they hadn't had much contact between them either. Summer had been busy working, as normal, and she didn't know what Autumn had been up to. She knew that Autumn had at least gotten married--the fact that she lived in the Suburbs meant that she had gone through with it. Hopefully, she was happy.

Finally, the door slowly began to open. Summer's head snapped toward the sound, and before she knew it, she could see the person who had been standing on the other side of the door. Autumn!" Summer squealed, at the same time that Autumn squealed, "Summer!" Summer quickly wrapped her arms as tight as she could around Autumn, embracing the woman whom she felt the closest to. But, something was hitting Summer's stomach, something that caused Summer to playfully raise an eyebrow and look down to see what it was.

Before Summer could say much, she felt herself being dragged into the house by Autumn, something she was quite happy about. The inside of the house was much, much warmer than the outside, and Summer finally stopped shivering. Autumn had always been a bit hyper, and so Summer wasn't surprised to feel Autumn grabbing her hand. She wasn't prepared, however, for that had to be placed on her best friend's growing tummy. It made the fact that Autumn was pregnant all the more real. "Oh my gosh, you are!" Summer squealed in delight, as she rubbed the tummy even more. "You realize I'm going to spoil...it, right?" she said with a smile.

Summer hadn't even told Autumn that she had signed up for The Vow, too. They had promised each other that when Summer's parents finally approved, then Summer would move out to Evergreen and sign up for The Vow as well. For Summer, she wanted to do this because her best friend had, and because she wanted to find her "Prince Charming." There was the chance that Summer would be thrown into an unhappy marriage, but she was willing to take her chances. "Really? How tall?" Summer asked excitedly. When they finally went and sat down on the nearby couch, Summer decided to break the ice. "I signed up, Autumn."

Autumn giggled as the look of confusion and then surprise and lastly excitement came across Summer's face in regards to the pregnancy announcement. A proud smile rested on her lips as Summer enthusiastically rubbed her stomach. She totally understood the urge to do so since Autumn did it herself quite frequently.

Happy was an understatement! Autumn had never been so contented and happy as she was in Evergreen! Sure, she'd always had a great life, even the move from China to the United States had been easy and pleasant enough and of course her childhood had been just as wonderful, especially after she met Summer! But now she had a lovely house and a husband that she was enthralled with and a baby on the way. And now that Summer was in town, life was even better!

She crushed her friend into a hug again, just glad to see the other woman. "You can spoil it all you want." Autumn promised. Well, she knew that the baby wasn't an it but rather a he but as much as she wanted to tell her best friend, she didn't think it was fair that her husband didn't get to know first! But Summer would be a close second.

Stepping back a bit, Autumn's arm extended straight up above her head to gesture vaguely how tall Johnny was and with their height difference, the height of her extended arm wasn't too off the man's actual height. "His name is Johnny." She added.

Although all giggles, and information stopped when Summer informed her of the last tidbit. "You did?" She squealed again, arms wrapping around Summer to hug her as tightly as she dared. "Took you long enough!" She teased, clapping. She very much wanted her friend to have her share of happiness and white picket fences! "Are you nervous?" She asked, hands grasping Summer's tightly.

Summer felt herself being crushed into a hug once again, but it was something that she didn't mind. Summer loved every hug that Autumn gave her, because she believed they were all special. They had been best friends since they were young children, and Summer couldn't think of a friend she had that was as faithful as Autumn had been. Summer could tell her anything, and she knew it would be kept secret. "Really? I can? Great!" Summer said excitedly. She loved telling people about stuff, and it was great when she was allowed to. Of course, when Summer was pregnant--someday, whenever it actually happened--then she would tell the whole world, though her husband, Autumn, and her parents would be the first to know, in that order.

Summer watched as Autumn tried to show her how tall her husband--Johnny--was, and when she got an idea of it in her head, her eyes went a little wide. He was tall, definitely taller than both her and Autumn. "Sheesh, really? Hopefully The Vow won't give me someone taller than six feet. I'm already short." Like many women, Summer had her idea of the perfect man in mind--dark, manly, no kids yet, shorter than 6'0", playful and silly, optimistic. She knew that she would never get a man quite like that, but a girl could dream, right? Summer liked to dream.

Summer wasn't quite prepared for the second hug Autumn gave her, though it was enough to crush the air out of her tiny lungs. Summer could give hugs like that, but she only one she normally gave it to was Autumn, and she certainly couldn't now. "Okay, okay, I'm dying here!" Summer said amongst a bit of laughter. "Mǔ and bà finally said they wouldn't disown me for it." Summer had been waiting until her parents gave their support for it, because she didn't want to disappoint them. She had never liked disappointing them, and she had promised herself a long time ago that she wouldn't. "Of course I'm nervous. Who wouldn't be?"

Summer had so much to tell Autumn. Not only was she living in Evergreen, and signed up for The Vow, but she had also found a job at Bennett-Hollstein Banking, as Kaden Bennett's personal assistant. So far, she had found that she liked the job quite a bit. Kaden was incredibly nice, though Summer knew to do her job or Kaden wouldn't be happy. She could tell just how important Kaden's job was to him. "So, what have you been up to? Still into computers?" Summer asked, wondering what her friend had been up to since they had last seen each other. "I'm a personal assistant, and so far, I love it!"

Autumn laughed softly since she hadn't even worried about how tall her future husband was! She was more concerned about him having some kind of Asian fetish or be abusive or something of that nature. Although those concerns disappeared pretty much immediately upon seeing Johnny all dressed up at the altar. And honestly, she hadn't even noticed how tall he was especially comparatively until he was standing next to her. But then they were happily married and all so what did that matter? "I bet if you got a tall one, you'd still be happy." She promised with a smile, hugging Summer again since she was so glad to see her!

She was glad that Summer's parents finally gave in. Although it might have seemed silly to other people, autumn understood. While her own parents were alright with it, if they had been strict like Summer's, they probably wouldn't have allowed for her to marry a white man! Or even anything besides Chinese. Maybe that seemed racist and all but some were more traditional than others.

The pregnant one of the two Asian women lowered herself onto the sofa since her feet were beginning to ache a little! "Don't be nervous, the vow is very good at what they do!" After all, she and Johnny were so happy and so were a lot of their neighbors! Her head bobbed at Summer's last question, "I run a little repair business out of my house...gives me something to do when Johnny is working and all." She smiled, glad to hear that Summer was finding Evergreen to be satisfactory.
"You got a job already? You certainly didn't waste any time." She teased, rubbing her tummy lightly. "It's not new York, but I hope you like it here."

It seemed like Autumn sometimes knew Summer better than Summer knew herself. Even if the man she was matched with through The Vow was tall, it wouldn't really matter in the end. She'd probably love the man just the same, rather than try to push him away simply because she didn't like his height. Summer liked just about anyone. "Yeah, you're probably right. Besides, it'll matter more about his personality anyway." For Summer, she would rather be matched up with a man who had a great personality. If she couldn't get along with the man, then the Lord help them both.

Summer hugged her friend as tightly but comfortably as she could. She had missed Autumn more than Autumn realized. They had never been separated like that for that long of a time, and although they were still able to keep in contact in different ways, they had slowly fallen out of touch. But, none of that mattered now. Soon, Summer would be married, and then many visits between the two households would ensue for sure.

Summer couldn't help it that she was nervous. After all, she was essentially marrying a complete stranger. You didn't really do that in normal life, which was another reason why her parents had initially been against it. They didn't like the idea of their daughter marrying a complete stranger that they hadn't met. But, they knew their daughter would be happy if she was able to see her friend again. So, they had agreed, but on one condition: they had to receive photos of Summer and her husband.

"A little repair business, huh? That is you, always repairing stuff. At least I know who to bring my laptop to if something's wrong. I know absolutely nothing about computers." It was true, Summer wasn't technologically competent when it came to certain things. That was why she had always relied on Autumn to help her. "Yeah, I'm Kaden Bennett's personal assistant. He runs Bennett-Hollstein banking." Summer loved her job. It allowed her to look cute while she was working, and the tasks weren't usually too complicated. "But, anyway, on to other things. When are you due?"