She could barely feel the tears running down her face or the rapid shaking of her body as she watched the caskets slowly slide into the ground. Her hands hugged the handles of the stroller before her as hard as she could, meekly looking away as the priest once again softly sang a prayer as the small caskets continued to get covered in the tiny raindrops that fell from the clouds.
Emily looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and her eyes looked to her husband's.
The older man ran his fingers through the ends of his wife's wet hair, pressing a kiss to her cheek before softly taking the stroller handles from her. "Why don't you go for a walk? I can watch the twins."
Emily quickly shook her head. "No, I can't."
"Sweetheart, you look like you're about to faint. Just go and maybe take a seat on the bench? I don't need you getting sick, ok?"
The younger woman slowly gave in, biting her lip before turning on her heels and leaving the sight of mourning behind her. She cupped a hand over her mouth as a sob escaped her, far away enough from the funeral so not one of her family members of friends could see her fall to her knees as she cried.
"Miss?"
Emily's head shot up, looking up to an older man with her swollen eyes. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt you?"
The older man shook his head, helping the brunette to her feet. "Not at all. I saw you fall, so I came over to help." He noticed the makeup drained from the younger woman's face, leaving nothing but a pale and swollen mess behind. It was if she hadn't stopped crying for days. "What brings you here?"
Tears from the brunette immediately began to pour down from her eyes once again, her lips quivering as she thought of the caskets just behind her. "My children..."
His eyes softened on the crying woman, helping her to the bench and sitting her down. "Miss, I am so sorry."
She shook her head. "My name is Emily."
The older man watched as she attempted to wipe her tears from her cheeks. "My name is Dave." He took a handkerchief from the breast pocket of his suit jacket and handed it to the brunette beside him. "I'm sorry for you loss. Would you like to talk about it?"
Emily bit her lip, looking up to the older man and wringing his handkerchief in her hands. "My two oldest," she shook her head, clearing her throat so her voice wouldn't continue to crack, "it was a movie night and me and my husband's house and Billy and Rebecca wanted to help cook dinner before we started the movie." She let out a breath, tears once again entering her eyes. "And a burglar came in, not knowing we were home." Her body shook as she remembered that night, feeling the stranger's hand cupping her elbow. "He shot them."
Dave felt his heart break as the younger woman once again burst into tears, and it took all he had not to take her into a hug. "Emily, I am so sorry." He took a moment to think before helping the mourning mother to her feet, walking her through the muddy cemetery and towards a tree with a small headstone right beside it. He rubbed his hand hesitantly down her back, pointing down to the headstone with frsh flowers atop it. "This is my son."
Emily's doe eyes widened as she looked down to the headstone embedded in the ground, reading the single date engraved there. "Dave... I'm sorry."
He shook his head, kneeling down and gently wiping the dirt from his son's grave. "It was six years ago. My late wife and I had waited for him for nine long months, and the day he came was the day he left."
The younger woman bit her lip, kneeling down beside the older man and grasping his free hand. "Dave..."
"I would love to tell you it gets easier. But honestly, it just gets a lot easier to hide the agony it brings you."
"...My mother, when my uncle died, told me that just like the departed, we become ok with whats happened. Maybe it just comes a lot later than we hope it will."
Dave turned his head to look to the younger woman, squeezing her hand as the rain began to pour down harder. "You should remember that." He helped her stand, pressing a kiss to his fingertips and pressing them to the backs of Emily's fingers. "I hope you find peace, Emily. Give my regards to your husband."
Emily's eyes stung as she watched the older man walk away, his feet trudging along and making his way over to a dark car parked underneath a tree. She jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her back, her head whipping around to see her husband at her side. "Oh hi."
He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Everyone is headed to the reception. But if you want, we can head on home."
She nodded her head, smiling thankfully as they began to make their way out of the cemetery and towards the cars. "I'd like to just go home. Thank you, Aaron."
Her husband held her hand in his as he continued to push the stroller holding their twins through the heavy drizzle. He followed her eyes to see a car driving slowly through the path to make its way out of the cemetery, and watched as his wife's eyes stared on. "Emily? Do you know them?"
Emily looked back to the older man at her side, shaking her head before slipping Dave's handkerchief into her blazer pocket. "No, its no one." She bit her lip as her husband led her to their car, her eyes watering once again as she picked her little baby girl up out of her seat. "He was no one."
