Trixie couldn't believe it. The weather was absolutely perfect. She could feel the heat of the sun on the back of her legs as she strolled down the lane, hand in hand with Alexandra. The pair wore almost identical clothing, both blondes wearing shorts, a vest top and Wellington boots up to the knee.
Birdsong could be heard in every direction, down the hill, in the woods, towards the farm and the area surrounding the church. The dogs, Nettie, a golden retriever, and Marley, a black Cocker-spaniel, tagged along, and roamed around on the hill and in the woods, chasing squirrels up the trees, and flushing birds up in the air.
As they neared the farm, the two Border Collies, Monty and Bobbi, appeared from the barn, and darted up the hill to greet Trixie and Alexandra.
'Well hello you two!' giggled Trixie, kneeling down on the grass, as she stroked the two sheep dogs. When Trixie first came to the farm, she was warned that Monty wasn't particularly friendly, and that he generally hated anyone who came near him. But when the dog first met Trixie, he warmed to her, and ever since was perfectly happy to have cuddles when he wasn't working on the farm.
The four dogs trotted behind Trixie and Alexandra, as they walked towards the Hen house to collect eggs for breakfast. The two searched the different compartments, in the hope that they would be lucky enough to find some.
'Mummy! I've found some!' beamed Alexandra, lifting out two eggs. It was only very recently that Alexandra had started calling Trixie 'Mummy'. As much as Trixie loved it, the thought of Alexandra's real mother, Diana, having not seen her daughter in years troubled her. She had gone to Christopher, to express her feelings about it. Christopher was able to reassure her, making it clear that the last time Alexandra saw her mother was when she was 3, and that she had no memory of her. For four years, Alexandra had had no mother, so when Trixie entered the scene, Alexandra clung to her; and formed an incredibly emotional bond with her. It didn't bother Trixie anymore, it something she cherished.
They left the farm, and took a detour through the woods, making their way towards the barn which was being used as the wedding reception. It was decorated in fairy lights, from the ceiling to the floor, and had nine tables set out, with a large dance floor on the opposite side. Outside of the barn, several chairs had been placed, surrounding the cut grass, where croquet had been set out. There was nothing else left to do, and the relief it brought Trixie was overwhelming.
'Can you hear that Mummy?' asked Alexandra, turning towards the road.
'I can Indeed!'
They jogged towards the driveway, where Phyllis, Valerie and Lucille got out of the car, and were knocking on the door. Lucille was the first to notice Trixie and Alexandra rushing to them from the barn, and she tapped Phyllis and Valerie on the shoulder to get there attention.
'Goodness! I wasn't expecting you to be here this early! When I said the morning I didn't mean half past eight!' Trixie said, as she hugged her friends outside of the house.
'Honestly Trixie, we were all awake by coincidence at half past five, we had nothing to do, so we thought we would come and surprise you! Any objections?'
Trixie shook her head.
'Absolutely not!'