Page 42 of Once Upon a Thyme

TWO YEARS LATER

The wedding was beautiful.

The church was decorated with all the herbs of high summer and smelled of a really good kitchen, slightly overlaid with the scent of pig.

Big Pig had, against my better judgement, been our ring bearer.

While seeing her little trotters, polished and scrubbed, mincing down the aisle to Zeb, with the ring cushion balanced on her head like a duchess teaching deportment, had been cute, it had also been fraught with danger.

However, she’d behaved impeccably, Ollie had sufficiently managed his fear of strangers to escort her into and out of the church, and she’d featured in so many photographs that she was going to get ideas above her station if we weren’t careful.

I felt, in my gorgeously embroidered gown, that I had slightly been upstaged by half a tonne of Tamworth sow.

Now we stood as dusk gathered, in the middle of our gardens. I was still wearing my dress – green and stitched with tiny ferns all across the bodice – as we waited, hand in hand, for the sun to set.

‘What a lovely day,’ Zeb said finally. ‘Nice of Mika and Tessa to come, what with the baby being so tiny and everything.’

‘Bit of a surprise Will and Loke being together though. I really thought Will was going to marry Genevra.’ I watched the last swifts tearing across the sky, trying to beat the sun. ‘Simon never really talks about the band when he’s here, does he?’

‘He’s got a lot of parenting catching up to do.’ Zeb was staring at the sky too. His excellent grey suit was peppered with petals from the lavender at our feet. ‘He’s probably going to start telling you you have to be home by nine and not to talk to strange men.’

‘Bit late for that.’ I nudged him and he laughed. Hand in hand we wandered up to the new barn, where the goats and hens had been closed in for the night. The building smelled of new wood and animals and resounded to sleepy clucks and rustling straw.

‘Your mum stayed sober.’ Zeb handed some hay to Winnie, goat-in-chief. He’d had to be persuaded about the goats, but now he loved them. ‘She did well.’

‘According to Simon, she’s getting help.

’ Careless of my dress, I sat on the top of the gate.

‘I don’t know if it’s going to work, but she’s showing willing at least. I think she wanted to look good in that dress she was wearing.

She and Simon have been having some long talks lately, now she’s got over wanting to kill him. ’

‘More wedding bells?’ Zeb scratched Winnie on the neck.

I shrugged. ‘Let’s finish enjoying ours first. And get over the four we have to do the flowers for next week.’

‘Yep. Better get an early night then.’ The sun dropped its last rays behind the scoop of hill and the birds finally fell silent. ‘Let’s go and celebrate.’

So we did.