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Ariel exchanged a brief, uncertain glance with Miles. "We'll save that for our wedding," she said, frowning. “Unless, I mean, is that necessary?”
“Nope,” the man said. “You just have to agree to a few things, and I have to say my piece.”
Miles and Ariel exchanged bewildered glances. The clerk, seemingly oblivious to the comedy of errors unfolding before him, prompted them to stand side by side. Ariel barely had time to register the absurdity of the situation—was all this necessary?—when the clerk launched into a monologue that felt like a cross between a legal lecture and a stand-up comedy routine.
"Do you, Miles, take Ariel to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part? Say 'I do.'"
Miles, still in shock, stammered, "I... um... I do?"
Ariel bit her lip to stifle a giggle as she exchanged a glance with her fiancé. She was convinced this was all a hilarious mix-up, but what would it hurt? They could get some good practice in for their upcoming wedding.
The clerk turned her attention to Ariel, who was struggling to contain her laughter. "And do you, Ariel, take Miles to be your lawfully wedded husband, yada yada yada... Say 'I do.'"
Ariel giggled. "I do?"
The clerk nodded approvingly, completely unfazed by their laughter, as he pronounced, "By the power vested in me, and forgive me for not reading out your full names, I've misplaced my reading glasses, I now pronounce you husband and wife."
The man stamped something on a clipboard in front of him.
"Congratulations," the clerk said. "You are now officially married."
Henry and Joan clapped their hands with enthusiasm, clearly delighted to have witnessed the unexpected nuptials.
Ariel blinked at Miles, her mind struggling to catch up with the reality of what had just happened. Her chest tightened, a strange mix of emotions swirling within her like the first snowflakes of winter caught in a gust of wind. As she met Miles's gaze, she saw her own confusion mirrored in his eyes, the deep hazel depths clouded with questions.
"Married?" she breathed, her voice barely audible even to her own ears. "But we were just here for the license..."
Before Ariel knew it, she and Miles were presented with a certificate. Their names were scrawled in a hurried script that seemed to match the clerk's frazzled demeanor.
"Once the certificate has been signed, your union is official," the justice explained blandly, as though he had seen countless couples standing in this very spot, grappling with the weight of their newfound commitment. "I apologize if there was any confusion."
Miles looked down at their entwined fingers, his thumb absently tracing patterns on the back of Ariel's hand as he sought to make sense of the situation. "What do we do now?"
"Wh-what about our actual wedding?" Ariel stammered, her eyes wide.
"Your wedding can still be held as planned," the justice reassured them. "This simply makes your union legally binding ahead of time. But your time is up, so I’m going to need to move on."
Ariel's laughter bubbled over as Miles leaned in, his lips brushing her ear as he whispered, "Well, that was unexpected."
“You did tell them we were here to get hitched,” she whispered back at Miles.
As they exited the makeshift ceremony room, thanking Henry and Joan, Ariel couldn't stop giggling. She looked at Miles, her eyes dancing with mirth. "Well, that was certainly one way to tie the knot."
The world outside seemed to carry on, oblivious to the delicate balance that had shifted between Ariel and Miles, their lives now inextricably bound together by a few strokes of ink on paper.
Miles chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist. "I always knew our love story would be one for the books. I just didn’t know it would be on the books so unexpectedly. Are you okay?" Miles’s voice was laced with concern as he searched her face for any hint of regret.
Ariel hesitated for a moment, weighing the whirlwind of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. She had always been a planner, meticulously orchestrating every aspect of her life in pursuit of her dreams. And yet, here she was, married without warning or preparation, standing at the precipice of a new chapter in her life that seemed to have opened before her like the pages of an unread book.
"I... I think so," she finally replied. "This isn't how I imagined it, but... I love you, Miles. And if we're going to face the unexpected, there's no one else I'd rather have by my side."
As Ariel and Miles stepped out of the courthouse, their laughter echoing in the crisp winter air, they made a pact to keep their sudden marriage a secret, at least for now.
"Let's keep this between us until our big day," Miles suggested, grinning mischievously. "Imagine the look on everyone's faces when they find out at the reception that we were already hitched!"
Ariel couldn't help but laugh, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. "Agreed. Our friends will never believe it."
Hand in hand, they walked down the courthouse steps, their hearts lighter than they had been in weeks. Ariel's mind wandered to all the other aspects of her life that seemed to be spinning out of control – her estranged father, her daughter's mysterious romance, and the constant challenges at the B&B.
