ELIZABETH
London, United Kingdom （England and Wales）
Day 1,278
I breathe deeply and the scent of the roses in my bouquet fills my mind. Everything is going to be okay, as Simon always tells me. George is standing resolute by my side. Dapper in a morning suit, he will walk me down the aisle in place of my dad. I never imagined getting married without my dad by my side, but I feel safe and loved. As every bride hopes, I have never felt happier.
The organ music starts to play and we walk, slowly but surely, down the aisle of this beautiful church where Simon’s family has married and been christened for generations. My mom is sitting, crying, in the front row. Commercial flights have started for anyone with a Certificate of Vaccination and it feels like the most extraordinary gift to have her here. Amaya beams at me, glowing in a green dress, as I pass her. George’s wonderful daughter Minnie gives me a thumbs-up as I pass, which makes me want to throw my head back and laugh.
And there, at the end, is Simon. This man I reached out to on a whim, in a moment of hopeful abandon, who has become everything to me. He’s smiling, shakily, a tear is threatening to make its way down his face. When I got off the plane, years ago, terrified and nervous, I had no idea how bad things would get, the number of people I would lose. And I had no idea how wonderful a life I would eventually build for myself. If only I could go back and tell myself everything would work itself out.
George lifts my veil and holds my hands tightly in his before saying to Simon in his twinkly voice, “You take care of her now.”
“I will,” Simon promises solemnly. The service is a blur of readings, English hymns and a moment of remembrance for those who are no longer with us. We say our vows and I resist the urge to give Simon’s parents a stern look when I have to recite his three middle names. No one needs that many names, but Simon Henry Richard James Maitland has five, and he’s perfect so who even cares.
The reception is small but wonderful. Pizza made with ration tokens, English wine and dancing ’til late surrounded by my family, both real and chosen. We dance our first dance to “Lucky” by Jason Mraz and it feels like an immunization against bad fortune. We know we’re lucky! we’re saying to the universe. We feel our good fortune in our bones. For Simon, to be immune, and for me, to be in the rare position of falling in love and having the prospect of having a family with the man I love. Such quotidian dreams, of survival, marriage and parenthood, but now, they are precious and rare.
“I thought you were never going to drink again after your hen do,” Amaya teases when I take a breather with a glass of cider.
“Don’t remind me! I still can’t believe the gifts.” I thought bachelorette parties were intense in the States. Well, now I have penis-shaped pasta in my kitchen cupboards and a porn DVD （“It’s super ethical porn made by Delilah Day! She owns her own porn company; it reminds people of the sex with their husbands and boyfriends they used to have,” Julia had exclaimed）。 I know that English hen parties are the real deal.
I just hope Simon doesn’t use the pasta when his parents come over.
“What are you chatting about?” George says, bowling up to Amaya and me.
“You’re drunk.” Amaya laughs.
“I am,” he says with a grin. “It’s a wedding, it’s tradition for the not-father of the bride to get a bit tipsy.”
“I’m so glad I met both of you,” I say, my tongue loosened by a few drinks. “I wish none of it had ever happened but I’m so glad I met you.”
“Bad things and good things can coexist,” Amaya says with a sad smile. “And we have to find the good where we can.”
ADAPTATION
ARTICLE IN THE WASHINGTON POST ON DECEMBER 8, 2029
This is one of our “Woman Least Likely” series of pieces about the women in the United States who have taken on leadership roles in politics, business and industry, despite being “unlikely candidates.” This week’s piece, by Maria Ferreira, is about Bryony Kinsella, 31, the founder and CEO of Adapt, a new dating app for women that is now the world’s largest by user numbers.