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The back of the Knope-Wyatt minivan was stuffed to almost overflowing with suitcases, and three toddlers sat comfortably in their car seats. Leslie watched with tearful eyes as the town she loved more than anything flew by her.
After everything that happened today, Leslie definitely felt a peace that she didn’t think she’d ever have when leaving Pawnee. That didn’t mean she was going to miss it any less–not with almost every street, building, tree they passed having a memory attached to it, but she hadn’t handcuffed herself to anything and refused to leave, so it was better than she’d anticipated.
Not to mention that they’d be splitting their time between here and D.C., so this was hardly the last time she’d be driving through these familiar streets.
As they came up upon the intersection, Leslie’s eyes widened.
“Ben! You need to stop. You need to pull over.”
The urgency in her voice startled him, and he gripped the steering wheel as he stopped on the side of the road.
“What? What is it?”
He instinctively looked behind him to check on the kids, but they were just as confused as he was.
“No, I’m sorry. It’s nothing bad, it’s just…” She shifts her gaze to the tiny park behind her.
His worried eyes soften. “Leslie, we really don’t have time-”
“Please? Just a few minutes. We left within plenty of time and don’t tell me you didn’t factor in stoppage time because you knew I’d do something like this.”
She knew she had him when he sighed. “Okay, I definitely did that.”
“Then you don’t have an excuse.”
He grinned and killed the car engine. “Alright, but only for a few minutes.”
She smiled even wider and unbuckled her seat belt. “Okay my little monsters, who wants one more trip to a park?”
There was a chorus of “yays” from the backseat, and Ben and Leslie began the process of unbuckling them.
“You know, you probably shouldn’t have told them we were going to a park,” Ben said as he held onto Stephen and Sonia’s hands. “They are probably going to be very confused and disappointed when they see that it’s smaller than a sandbox.”
“Hmm, good call. Oh, well, I guess it’s never too early to teach them that it’s not the size of the park that counts. Besides, this is someplace very special to us–to our family. I want them to see it before we leave.”
He gave her that look, the look that tells her that he understands, that he loves her and will be there for her through anything. It never fails to make her feel incredible.
As they walked up to the patch of grass, the triplets looked around confused.
“Where is it?” Stephen asked in his adorable toddler voice.
“It’s right here, sweetie.”
“Little,” Sonia said as she walked up the fountain.
“I know, baby, but this place is very important to Mommy and Daddy.” Leslie’s voice cracked, and she wiped at a stray tear.
“Oh, okay.”
Ben pulled Leslie to his side as the boys started climbing on the bench.
“How are you holding up?”
“Barely?” she laughed as she wiped at another tear. “Its just that I always kind of consider this the place where we really started together. Where we decided that being together was more important than anything else. This,” she choked back a sob, “this was where I knew for sure that I loved you, that I wanted to be with you even if it meant hurting my campaign. I wanted it to be the last place we stop before leaving.”
He pressed a kiss to to her forehead before resting his cheek against her hair. “I can understand that. I feel the same way about it, too. That was definitely one of the greatest and most important nights of my life.”
She pulled herself closer to him and watched her kids chase each other around the perimeter of the park.
“So much has changed since then,” she mused.
“But all for the better.”
“Definitely.”
Ben looked down at his watch. “Sorry, babe, but we’re cutting it close.”
Leslie nodded and pulled away from her husband. “Okay you guys. We have to go now.”
It took a little while to for them to wrangle their three energized children, but they eventually buckled them back up and resumed the drive to the airport.
With a sad smile, Leslie watched as the tiny square grew even smaller until it disappeared from sight in her rear view mirror.
Ben grasped her hand and brought it up to his lips. “Everything will be fine, you know.”
“I know,” she returned his smile.
“Mommy?” Wesley’s voice asked from the back.
“Mmhmm?”
“Was that you and Daddy’s park?”
“Yeah, sweetheart, it is.”
And as they passed the “Thank you for visiting Pawnee” sign, Leslie knew that no matter where they lived, it always would be.