I Could Never Forget You
Leslie had been unhappy all day, and her friends had all called her crazy. She didn’t think it was crazy- her best friend was thinking of leaving! She was acting perfectly rationally!
Ron was the one, as usual, to talk her out of her insane tirade, but it didn’t stop her from feeling the horrible pain twisting in her gut. She wasn’t acting crazy anymore, but she was still desperately sad.
She swallowed that down, though. She thought of what she was going to say to Ann, and she practiced it over and over again.
When Ann appeared in her office door, Leslie gave her a sad smile. Ann smiled back. At the heart of it all, they understood each other. Ann knew that this would break Leslie’s heart. And deep down, deep deep down, Leslie knew that if Ann wanted to do it, she would never stop her.
That was the energy both women took to their conversation.
“I’m sorry,” Leslie said straight away. “I was acting crazy today.”
“It’s alright,” Ann replied. “I know you didn’t mean it.”
“I was being selfish.”
“Well…”
“No, Ann. Don’t rush to my defense- I was being selfish.”
Ann quirked the corner of her mouth up in a smile. She was actually going to agree with her, but decided to stay quiet.
“If you decide to leave Pawnee, I’ll support you. And your new best friend will love you so much.”
Ann frowned. “Hey! Who said anything about a new best friend?”
“Well, you’ll be so busy in Michigan that you’ll definitely forget all about Pawnee. And I suppose that’s okay, as long as you’re happy.”
Ann rolled her eyes. She was going to ask if Leslie was joking, but the look on the woman’s face told her that she wasn’t. She looked sincere- and quite depressed.
“Leslie,” Ann said gently, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. “If we do leave Pawnee, you can bet on all of Ron’s gold that I wouldn’t forget Pawnee, and definitely not you. Never ever. You’ll always be my best friend, understand?”
Leslie sighed softly. Ann couldn’t tell if she was going to cry or not, but then she burst into tears, and she was pulling Ann in for a hug and squeezing her tightly.
“I just love you so much,” Leslie wailed. “I’m sorry I was crazy and didn’t support you at first, I was just worried you’d leave and forget about me.”
Ann hugged her back, feeling a few tears slip out herself. “I could never forget you, Leslie! That would be physically impossible, and even though I never would, I don’t think you’d ever let that happen either!”
Leslie laughed into Ann’s shoulder, before sitting back and wiping her eyes.
“If you decide to do it, I’ll support you,” Leslie told her. “And then I’ll make a whole horde of binders on the situation- specifically your future town, travel distance, best waffle venues…”
Leslie went on, babbling, and Ann smiled as she watched her best friend get on board with the situation. Leslie was great- when she was on your side, she was really on your side. And Ann knew that there wasn’t a chance in hell that Leslie would never not be on Ann’s side, because she was the best friend in the world. Once she stopped acting crazy, anyway.
“Hey,” Ann said softly, stopping Leslie’s monologue for a second. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Leslie replied instantly.
They hugged again, and Ann knew that there wasn’t a chance in the universe that they wouldn’t be best friends for the rest of their lives.