Pushing Parks / Chapter 9
Chapter 9
When he was nine years, thirteen weeks old, Ben Wyatt was playing husband to his next door neighbor Cindy Eckhart. From where he was lying on the grass, Cindy’s blonde hair shone in the sun, giving an effect of a halo, proving Ben’s hypothesis that she was an angel.
Cindy held out her arm for Ben to hold to lift himself up, but instead Ben pulled her down and she fell atop him. Ben was laughing, unable to believe the fact that his crush was lying on him while Cindy Eckhart was hitting him with closed fits and screaming. The happiest moment in Ben Wyatt’s life was the worst in Cindy Eckhart’s. She jumped to her feet and ran to her house, and Ben Wyatt did not talk to her again until he became the mayor of his town and asked her to the prom, only to be turned down.
“Good lord.”
Leslie held her breath and looked at Ben from the rearview mirror who was looking outside. She had just hit someone. She unfastened her seatbelt and got out of the car immediately to do something. She ran and found a woman lying on the ground. All the bad possibilities popped to her mind. Squinting her eyes, she tried to see Ben in the car through the headlights.
“I’m sorry, Leslie. I should have looked where I was going.” came the voice of Shauna Malwae-Tweep. Leslie Knope finally let out the breath she was holding. Before she knew it, there were voices coming around her and figures stepped in.
“I’m a nurse, let me through.” Ann Perkins shouted as she made way and knelt beside Shauna. “Okay, can you sit up?” she helped her. “Follow my light. Not with your whole head, just your eyes.”
Leslie moved closer to the car. Ben was already out of the car, looking at the scene from behind the crowd.
“How many fingers am I holding?”
“Ben, stay behind.” Leslie whispered to Ben Wyatt. The last thing she wanted after hitting the city’s nosiest journalist with her car and causing a scene was bringing the attention to Ben.
“She is okay, nothing here to see people.” shouted Ann Perkins as she helped Shauna Malwae-Tweep stand and lean on the hood of the car that had just hit her moments ago.
“Is she going to be okay? Ann talk to me. Is she okay?” Leslie rushed the beautiful ex-nurse. “Are you okay?”
“It’s nothing major, just some bruises. You were really lucky Shauna.”
“Thank you, Ann Perkins.” Shauna smiled her bright smile at the ex-nurse. “And Leslie, I am sorry for causing you trouble.”
“There is no need to apologize Shauna, I am sorry for hitting you.”
“Oh my, is that Ben Wyatt?” Shaun Malwae-Tweep pointed at the Teen Mayor who was standing behind Leslie in the dark. “I haven’t seen you in days.”
Ben Wyatt shyly stepped out of the dark and walked towards Shauna. “Hi Shauna.”
Leslie Knope remained in her place by the car, looking at Ben Wyatt and Shauna Malwae-Tweep fall into a familiar conversation. Something broke in her as she watched Shauna touch Ben’s shoulder.
“What is going on, Leslie?” Ann Perkins came over.
“They are going to have sex in five minutes.” replied the Waffle Maker, confusing both Ann Perkins and herself.
“I don’t think so, Leslie.” Ann commented. “They are simply catching up. Like you and I should.”
Leslie looked at her friend and gave a half smile, nodding her head. “I’ll tell you everything, I promise. But not right now.” She went back to watching Ben and Shauna. Shauna’s hand was now on Ben’s wrist, she was laughing at something he said. Just the slightest act of her hand touching his skin almost made her cry. “I know how this works. She smiles and they fall in love and she changes her name to Shauna Malwae-Wyatt. Or he is going to be very progressive and change his name to Ben Wyatt Malwae-Tweep. I am so annoyed that he would hypothetically do that.”
Ann Perkins had never seen her best friend jealous before, even when Mark Brendanawicz had asked her on a date. “Leslie, what is going on between you and Ben Wyatt? Are you sleeping with him?”
“No.” Leslie protested. “It is complicated. We are friends. We are roommates with benefits.” she tried to explain but realizing how she sounded, she tried to fix it. “We are roommates who benefit from the fact that we are also friends.”
“I don’t know what that means.” Ann said, baffled. “But it is obvious that you like him, which is a good thing.” She was now smiling.
“What? That’s disgusting and wrong. I don’t even get… why would? I have never liked anyone, anywhere. It’s none of your… you have the nerve, the audacity. Ben is my roommate, technically and he is terrible, face-wise. And how… how I know frankly that you don’t like him? Maybe you like him? Maybe you are trying to throw me off? Check and mate.” Leslie rambled on, but Ann would not budge. “This is an outrage!” she shouted. “Who do I call?”
“Leslie, ready to leave?” Ben came and asked at that moment. Without saying anything else or looking at anyone, Leslie moved towards Ben with her head down and walked back to her car.
She drove them silently to her house, still not looking at him. The silent was unbearable, but she could not say a thing. She was just rambling, admitting words to her best friend that denied her feelings towards the Teen Mayor. She unlocked the door, feeling Ben’s eyes burning a hole at the back of her head. “I am sorry if I kept you apart from Shauna. I can drop you back.” she offered, breaking the silence finally, taking a hesitant step towards the stairs.
“Leslie, wait.” Ben said instead. He was looking at her directly, his eyes unreadable. Leslie saw his one arm reach out to hers and stop abruptly, realizing what he was doing.
“Yeah?”
“I… I, um.” Ben started, stammering. Leslie gave him a look. He cleared his throat. There was now a stern look on his face. “In my time in the government, I’ve been sent to many towns. I tried to make amends for my failure as a mayor. Then I came here to fix the town and resolve the corruption and then I got killed and I realized, all this time, all these things, it all lead me to you. I know I could never touch you, but I’d rather spend a lifetime being with you and never getting to touch your hair than to be with someone else for a second.”
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a/n: nope, this story wasn't dead, life was just busy.