For the second time that day, Sydney stood outside the iron gates of the cemetery. It was considerably colder, so she had Archer's jacket zipped up as far as it would go and her hand- the one that wasn't engulfed in his- inside its pocket. It was very dark outside- almost 8 o'clock- and make the cemetery look even more intimidating than in daylight.
"Will you go with me? You know, to... talk to him and stuff?"
"I'm not going anywhere, Sunshine," he told her. There was a double meaning to his words and it made her heart cry out in joy.
She looked up at him and a small, grateful smile kissed her lips. She squeezed his hand once and together they walked through the tall iron gate. The only other time she had been here was her father's funeral, but she knew exactly where to go.
Standing before his grave was different from seeing it from afar. It made the loneliness and grief a little more real. She sat before his gravestone, cross legged, Arthur beside her offering his silent support.
At first, she felt awkward talking to something- someone- that wasn't going to talk back, but pouring out her feelings for the third time that day got increasingly easier.
Before she knew it, an hour had flew by and she and Archer were standing up and preparing to leave.
"And you don't have to worry about me anymore, dad. When you died, I liked to think you were my guardian angel in the sky. But, now I have one on earth, too." Sydney smiled up at Archer as he looked down and smiled at her. She kissed her fingers, touched the gravestone, and said goodbye- although not for the last time- to the grave of her father.
The eyes of the cemetery watched as she and her newfound love walked away into the night, until they were completely out of sight.
