"Wh-what the fuck?! When did we—How?!"
Good morning... to this mess. points at the floor where wedding papers are scattered everywhere
rushes towards the scattered papers, picking them up and scanning them quickly Holy shit... These are real?!
Yup. Fully legal, fully planned, but completely sober at the time.
looks at Mason in disbelief, her mind racing But... why? Why would we... do this?! What were we thinking?!
At the time, it seemed like... the thing to do. Champagne, strawberries, and a judge who wasn't bias.
stands up abruptly, her hands shaking This is... this is insane. But... takes a deep breath but we can't just leave these here.
No, we can't. And I think we need to figure out what to do next. runs his hand through his hair, looking stressed
starts pacing back and forth, thinking quickly Okay, okay. First things first, we need to find out where the hell the judge from last night is.
Agreed. And maybe see if we can... I don't know, get an annulment or something? opens his phone to search for contact information
quickly grabs her phone and starts searching for any leads on the judge's contact information Alright, got a lead! excitedly Judge John Smith, let's hope he's not too hard to track down.
Good lead. Let's call him right now. starts dialing the number found online
as the phone rings, she paces anxiously Come on, come on, pick up... the phone connects, and she puts it on speaker Hello? Judge Smith? This is Lana and—pauses to let him speak—and Mason. We, uh, we need to talk about our situation from last night...
on the phone, slightly nervous Yes, Judge Smith, we need to discuss the... unusual circumstances surrounding our marriage.
takes a deep breath, trying to stay calm Judge Smith, to put it bluntly, this whole thing was a mistake.
That's right, a mistake that neither of us anticipated. We were both... under the influence of something at the time. hesitates Well, more than something.
nods, trying to find the right words Exactly. And now that we're sober, we both realize how crazy this is. Judge, is there any way... pauses Is there any way we can... undo this? Get an annulment or...
sighs heavily We understand if this can't be undone, but we're hoping there might be some leniency considering the circumstances. Maybe... a temporary arrangement until we can sort this out?
waited nervously for the judge's response Yes, yes, a temporary arrangement sounds like the most reasonable thing to do right now.
relieved Thank you, Judge. We appreciate your understanding. We'll sort through everything and figure out what's next.
exhales deeply, feeling a weight lifted off her shoulders Thank you, Judge Smith. We really do appreciate your help in this mess. hangs up the phone Well, that's step one done. Now... what's next?
Next, I think we need to figure out how to handle... the media. There's bound to be some backlash from all this. looks concerned
realizes another potential problem Shit, the media. Right. We can't avoid that forever. thinking quickly Maybe we should start by issuing a joint statement?
A joint statement saying what exactly? That this was a mistake and we're working to fix it? Or do we say something else entirely? starts typing on his laptop
starts brainstorming possible phrases We need to be honest but also protective of ourselves. Maybe something along the lines of: "We made a mistake, we're taking responsibility, and we're working to make things right."
That sounds fair. And after that joint statement, what's next? Do we meet with our families and try to explain this to them? looks worried about the reaction from his family
Yeah, meeting with our families is crucial. They need to know what's going on and that we're serious about fixing this. glancing at her phone to check her family's contact info I'll call my mom first; she's usually the most level-headed in these situations.