Cinematic Confessions

The hospital room was cold. You would have thought they would try to make it a little more nice and comfortable for expecting mothers. "Do you want another blanket?" Cade asked Autumn, making a motion to grab the extra blanket that was sitting in the arm of the chair he was sitting in. Autumn shook her head, looking up at the ceiling. She was nervous to say the least. "Are you sure you want to do this still?"

Autumn looked over at him. She'd learned to love him over the past six years of knowing him. "Are you kidding me?" she questioned. "And not give you the baby you've been wanting for how long? Yes, I still want to do this," she told him firmly, hoping he wouldn't ask her yet again.

"We can't thank you enough," Katherine said, moving over to the edge of the bed and grabbing a hold of Autumn's hand. The two of them had known each other since their freshman year in college when they had been randomly put together to share a room in the dorms. They had became best friends extremely quickly and went on to live with each other the following three years.

"You know I'd do anything for you and Cade," Autumn smiled at her. It was true. Katherine was practically her sister, and ever since she had gotten serious about Cade, he had turned into her brother. Autumn had been the maid of honor at their wedding three years ago, giving them the best toast at their reception, talking about how Katherine would get caught sneaking in and out of Cade's place back in college, but then she would claim that nothing serious was going on between the two of them. But, even back then, Autumn knew they were bound to be wedded one day.

When Katherine had revealed to Autumn that the doctors didn't think she'd ever be able to carry a child to term, Autumn had held her while she cried. She'd watched the couple go through a number of miscarriages, but they wanted a baby of their own, and Autumn couldn't blame them. She knew they were going to be great parents. She had also been the first person Cade and Katherine told that they were thinking about using a surrogate to try to have a baby of their own. And, Autumn had volunteered to be that person not even five minutes after they had revealed their plan.

Cade and Katherine had sat there in disbelief. Neither of them had even thought of asking Autumn. They were going to go through the hospital to try to find someone. But, they couldn’t think of a better person to carry their baby for them. They had asked her a thousand times if she was sure she wanted to do this. They had reminded her that it was going to be a nine month commitment. But, Autumn never strayed from her decision. She wanted to help her best friends.

Now the time had come for the insemination. Both Katherine and Cade had already asked her if she really wanted to do this while she had been in the hospital. And, she had continued to confirm that she did indeed want to go through with the surrogacy. But, if they asked one more time, she thought about saying she wanted to back out, just to see how they would respond.

Dr. Shively walked into the room, a smile on her face. "Hello Autumn, Cade, Katherine," she said, holding her hand out to shake each of theirs. "You all ready to do this?" she asked Autumn, who nodded her head. "Now, are you going to go back to New York in the meantime? Do I need to set you up with a doctor there?" she asked Autumn.

Autumn lived in New York City, but Cade and Katherine lived in Chicago. They had gone back and forth many times about what Autumn should do. Autumn was a pharmacist, which meant she could essentially find a job anywhere in the country. Katherine had used that angle to try to convince her to move to Chicago. "It would be easier that way," Katherine had told her. "That way we can keep seeing Dr. Shively, and Cade and I would be there for anything that you need. Plus, we'd be there as the baby grew inside you!"

Autumn had argued back. She wanted to stay in her own apartment in New York. She didn't want to move halfway across the country to start her whole life over. Yes, her best friend was in Chicago, but the rest of Autumn's life was in New York. But, in the end, like always had happened in the ten years they'd known each other, Katherine won the argument.

"I'm actually staying in Chicago," Autumn told Dr. Shively.

A smile spread across the doctor's face. "Oh, that's great! We'll keep a good eye on you," she told her. "Now, if you're ready, we'll take you back so we can get the procedure started."

Autumn nodded her head, looking at Katherine and Cade. "Wish me luck," she said, forcing a smile on her face. In all actuality, Autumn was scared. There was a chance her body wouldn't be a good host for the egg and sperm, and she wouldn't be able to have a baby for her friends. The doctor had told her not to worry about it, that the added stress would be counterproductive. But, the thought was still in the back of her mind.

"You're going to do great," Katherine beamed at her. It was clear to Autumn that her friend was extremely excited. Katherine stood up, wringing her hands, before leaning over to give Autumn a long hug. "Thank you so much for this," she whispered in Autumn's ear. When she pulled back, Autumn noticed the tears in Katherine's face, and she knew she was doing the right thing.

"We'll be right here waiting for you," Cade told her, and Autumn nodded her head, waving at the two of them as Dr. Shively took her out of the room.

As soon as Autumn left the room, Katherine turned towards Cade. "God, I hope this works," she breathed out. He knew how nervous she was, and he was nervous as well. But, he also knew that it wasn't something they could dwell on. If it was meant to happen, it would. And, he knew that Autumn would be the best chance they would have. He knew she'd be careful with his and Katherine's child, taking care of him or her while she was carrying the baby as if it were her own.

Cade grabbed Katherine's hand, linking his fingers with hers. "Either way, we'll be okay," he told her.

"We owe Autumn," Katherine said with a light chuckle. "Not only for carrying our child, but also for moving here for us. She wanted to stay in New York so badly, but I know it's better if she's here, you know?"

"I know, babe," Cade told her. "I think she'll be happy with her place," he added. He and Katherine had rented out a condo for her for the year. Autumn had told them numerous times that she could pay for her own place, but Cade had been relentless and had ultimately gotten the place without Autumn's knowledge. She had still been in New York when Cade had rented the place, and since she couldn't move in until the following day, she still hadn't seen the place.

"Oh my God, I know she will! That place is gorgeous! It's perfect for her!" Katherine assured him. She had made sure the place would be decorated just like Autumn wanted, though throughout the process Cade had to remind Katherine that the condo was for Autumn, and not for her. So, Katherine couldn't put up the giant picture of a Dalmatian like she wanted to. Autumn wasn't a huge fan of dogs. Instead, Cade had convinced Katherine to put up a picture of the New York skyline instead to remind Autumn of home.

They chatted for another half an hour before Autumn walked back into the room. Katherine was the first one to jump up out of her chair. "All finished?" she asked.

Autumn nodded her head. "Now we've just got to wait," she told them.

Dr. Shively walked in behind Autumn. "Two weeks and you can take a pregnancy test. I'll see you back in a month. But, please don't hesitate to call me if you need to see me sooner," she said with a smile before walking out of the room.

"Two weeks," Katherine said excitedly, unable to wait to see if Autumn was carrying hers and Cade's child.

"Two weeks," Autumn repeated with much less enthusiasm. Two weeks was a long time to wait to know if she was carrying a child.



Two weeks crept by slowly for Autumn, who was getting annoyed with the constant check-ups by Katherine and Cade. She loved the two of them, but they were starting to get on her nerves. If they showed up one more time unexpectedly at her condo just to ask her how she was feeling, she was going to explode. She was grateful they hadn't forced her to stay in their house so they could constantly watch over her. Katherine had suggested that, and thank God for Cade being slightly more sane and talking her out of that. Instead, they had gotten a condo just a quick five minute drive from their house.

She needed out of the condo. They had both urged her to lay low and take it easy for these first two weeks. The doctor had mentioned that she needed to keep her stress low and take care of her body so that it would be a good host for the baby. Autumn had done that, but Katherine and Cade were going overboard, making sure she was always lying down when they came over to check up on her.

She stood up, grabbing her purse, making a quick getaway out of her apartment before either one of them could catch her and force her back to bed. As she reached the sidewalk and made it a block without either one of them catching her, she let out a sigh of relief, knowing she had snuck away unnoticed.

All Autumn wanted right now was a caramel macchiato with an extra shot of espresso, but she knew that was a no go. She couldn't have that much caffeine, especially if she was carrying a baby.

She may not be able to have her favorite drink, but that didn't mean she couldn't go to Starbucks still. She was happy when she saw one across the street, and she quickly crossed it, making a bee line into the shop. She welcomed the fact that it was packed, just like they always were in New York City. It was a small reminder of home that comforted her. She got to the back of the line, looking across the menu, knowing she couldn't have the majority of the things up there.

She got to the register and she had to force herself to spit out the words "venti decaf" to the barista before giving her her name. She moved to the end of the counter, waiting for her cup of coffee when she heard a male voice say with a bit of humor in his voice, "Decaf coffee? Isn't that an oxymoron?"

Autumn turned her head and had to crane her neck to look up at him. She'd always hated being 5'1, and right now it was working against her even more than usual. She laughed as she said, "Yeah, it kinda is."

"I always thought the whole point of coffee was to get the caffeine flowing through your veins," he said as they called her name.

She walked up and grabbed the cup, heading over to where the sugar was as she answered him. "Yeah, it is. But, I can't drink caffeine right now," she said, without thinking. She didn't want to have to try to explain to a complete stranger that she could potentially be carrying her best friend and her husband's baby.

But, he didn't seem to make a big deal out of it as the barista called out for Corey and he went up to the counter to get his cup. He walked over to where Autumn was standing just in time to see her dump a bunch of sugar into her cup, and he started laughing. "Forgo the caffeine for some sugar, I like your thinking," he smiled at her.

Autumn glanced over at him, trying to figure out if he was flirting with her or if he was just a friendly guy in general. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, so she told herself he was just being friendly, and she decided to continue the conversation. "What'd you get?" she asked him.

"Plain old coffee," he said, holding his cup up before taking a big sip.

Autumn's eyes went wide. "You're drinking it black?" she questioned, almost gagging at just the thought of it.

Corey laughed at her reaction. "Yeah, not all of us need to have a fifty-fifty ratio of coffee to sugar," he joked, and she smiled back at him. "Look, I'm kinda in a hurry, I'm about to be late for, uh, work," he said, though the look on his face told her that he didn't really want to leave. "Maybe we can see each other again?" he asked hopefully.

Autumn chuckled. "I'll probably be here about every morning, I'm kinda addicted to this stuff," she said, lifting up her cup and shaking it a little.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," he said with a smile as he grabbed his coffee and made his way out the door.

Autumn couldn't help but smile as she took a sip of her coffee, nearly spitting it out. One thing was for sure, she was going to have to find some other drink tomorrow morning because she couldn't drink the decaf again, no matter how much sugar she had in it.