a day in the life of Adele

Chapter 35

Simon looked amazing.

He was still the man I fell in love with the second I made eye contact with him all those years ago on the beach.

Except now, he was the father of my beautiful child and the man I was about to marry.

When he sees me and we make eye contact, both of our faces become a look of shock.

I notice him wipe his tear-filled eyes with a wide grin, so I automatically begin to cry. I smile through it, trying to ignore the fact that there are literal tears running down my cheeks.

When I finally reach the end of the aisle, my mother releases my hand and sits down. Simon takes my hand and we face each other.

I have been waiting my entire life for this moment. All of my anxiety has suddenly disappeared, and the only two emotions I am feeling right now are gratitude and love. I am so in love.

I focus on looking into Simon's bright blue eyes, allowing myself to get lost in them as we go through the parts of the ceremony.

I watch with love as Angelo carefully hands the rings to Simon and I, whispering, "I did it mummy and daddy!"

Both of us thank him and congratulate him on doing such a wonderful job before we look back into each other's eyes.

Everything inside of me melts and my heart pounds when I hear Simon start to speak, reciting his vows.

"I, Simon Konecki, take you, Adele Adkins, to be my lawfully wedded wife. Through sickness and health, better or worse, times of stress or times of joy, through everything, I promise to love and cherish you forever. I promise to stay by your side as your husband and to love you unconditionally, until death do us part." He slips the ring onto my finger.

Everybody waits for me to return his vows, but it takes me a few seconds to gather my emotions enough that I can speak. I didn't expect his words to touch me so much that I would cry my eyes out.

I take a deep breath and cackle, saying, "Alright, I'm good." Everybody laughs, which lightens the emotional mood.

"I, Adele Adkins, take you, Simon Konecki, as my lawfully wedded husband. I promise to love, cherish, and support you through everything life brings to us, whether it be in sickness or health, happiness or sadness, better or worse, stressful times or easy times, through it all. I promise to be with you as your wife and to love you endlessly and unconditionally, until death do us part." I carefully slide the ring onto his finger, feeling so in love and thankful.

Before I can begin to cry again, I hear the words I have been waiting for all my life: "Simon, you may kiss the bride."

He gently presses his lips to mine and I completely melt into a puddle. That was it. This kiss now meant we were husband and wife.

When he pulls away, tears fill my eyes and I begin to cry. We finish the ceremony, which becomes a bit of a blur as I cry and feel so grateful that it's all happening.

Simon and I walk hand and hand back down the aisle, and I wave and smile through tears at my friends and relatives who have just witnessed me become Simon's wife.

The air is chilly but I am so warm inside that I hardly notice. The city below us looked absolutely stunning, providing the perfect scenery for a perfect ceremony.

Simon picks me up and kisses my cheek as I laugh and wrap my arms around him. I just want don't want this day to end. I spot Angelo in my mum's arms, and he is beaming with excitement. Simon puts me down and I run to hug Angelo.

I stop crying, remembering that the next step was photos and then the reception. We were going to have a blast.

+

I couldn't wait to see all the photos of Simon and I, as well as our family, and then be able to hang them proudly in our house. I really felt immense gratitude for all that I had.

During the reception, I felt half like a teenager and half like the mum I am. I would go from chatting nonsense with my friends to scooping Angelo up and being his mum. It was the perfect mix.

Simon and I only parted a few times to greet the guests and talk with our friends.

There were many times when I just wanted time to stop so that I could live in the moment forever. I had the feeling when I was dancing with my mum, when Simon danced with my mum, when I danced with Angelo, when my entire family got up and danced, when I danced with Laura and my other friends, when my band got together again for a picture, and when my mum gave us a toast, among many other moments.

I would cherish her words forever.

"It honestly feels like only a few years ago when I first held Adele in my arms. I was young and scared, but when I looked into her sweet face, I knew everything would be ok. Growing up, Adele had incredible talent and I just knew in my heart she would be successful no matter where her talent took her. From the moment she opened her eyes to look at me, to the moment she blew me away when she first sang, to when she released her first album, all the way to when she handed me my grandchild and now as she becomes Simon's wife, I have felt so much pride that she is my daughter and I wonder how I got so lucky to be her mother. Truthfully, I have been doing that since the moment she was born, and I continue to do it every single day. I am tremendously blessed to be your mother, Adele, and I could go on forever about how proud I am of you. I am just as blessed to be able to call Simon my son-in-law. There is no better man in the world for you. I wish the both of you all the love and success in the world, and I love you both with all of my heart."

I smile with tears in my eyes as I hug her.

As if I hadn't cried enough tears already, Laura gave us a toast.

"I met Adele in high school and I thought she was the craziest person in the world. I still think that, but it's one of the many reasons I love her. She's always been absolutely hilarious, she's always up for a party, and she is the most fun person to be around. Not only that, she is a wonderful mother and the nicest woman in the world. She has a huge heart and I am so glad she has allowed me to be in her life. We have been friends for over a decade and I couldn't be more thankful for that. I have watched her go through many milestones, I have watched her become an international superstar, and I have seen her heartbroken as well. But I always knew she had an incredible personality and that she would find love again, no matter how much she doubted it. And I was right. So here she is, married to Simon, the best man I could ever imagine to be Adele's husband. Adele, I just want to tell you that I love you for a million reasons, including the fact that you are the kindest, most caring, hilarious, talented, and absolutely beautiful person I have ever met. A few weeks ago, my mother passed, and I was sure I wouldn't be strong enough to come tonight. Thanks to you, I am here and it has been an absolute honor. So thank you for helping me, for holding me back from telling the 16-year-old lifeguard that I was in love with him, and for being the best friend I have ever had. I wish the two of you an incredible life ahead. I love you so much." She finished it off by crying and then hugging me tight.

Just when I was so sure I couldn't cry anymore, it was time for Simon and I to have our first dance.

"At Last" by Etta James comes on and I completely melt into Simon, holding his hand and feeling his arms around me, crying and listening to him whisper, "I love you."