Ann Visits the Knope-Wyatt Household
When Ann arrived at the house, she had come to expect three giddy six-year-olds greeting her at the door. It had been the same for the past six years, and she doubted it was going to change any time soon.
“Hi!” Stephen yelled.
“Hey guys! Wow- look at you!”
“Do you have any waffles for us?” Wesley asked, making Ann laugh.
“I do! They’re in my bag!”
“Woah!” came Leslie’s voice as she sprinted down the hall. “Okay guys, let Ann walk through the door.”
The children dispersed, allowing Ann to put down her bag and for Leslie to embrace her in a tight hug. When they finally pulled back from each other, the two women were smiling.
“It’s so good to see you,” Leslie told her. “Even if it’s just for the night.”
“I know,” Ann replied, and the women hugged again. Ann frowned.
“Are you smelling my hair?”
“No!”
The two of them walked down the hallway into the living room, where Ben was stood with a child attached to each leg.
“Hi Ann!” he called.
Ann burst out laughing. “Hey Ben!”
“How are Chris and the kids?” Ben asked, detaching the children so he could move to give her a hug.
“They’re fine! A little bummed they couldn’t come down tonight, but since I’m up early for the conference and then back in Michigan for my Mom’s birthday, it was just impractical.”
“Are you bringing Uncle Chris and Oliver and Leslie next time?” Wesley asked, again proving to Ann that he had inherited his Mother’s tenacity.
“Sure am, buddy. Maybe next week, since it’s Spring Break?” Ann threw her hands up in the air excitedly. “Which means no school! Yay!”
“I can’t wait!” Sonia piped up. “I’ve got time to work on a project for class.”
“Oh yeah?” Ann asked, sitting on the couch. “What’s it about?”
“Space,” Sonia said simply, and Ann glanced at Ben, who shrugged happily. “Auntie Ann, your hair is so pretty. Like a flower princess.”
Wow, Ann thought. That was like a double whammy. These kids really are what happens when Ben and Leslie make offspring.
“Thank you! Do you want to help me braid it?” Ann asked, knowing that Sonia would want to.
“Can I help?” Stephen asked with bright eyes.
“Sure you can!”
***
Over the next hour, the kids spent every second of their time talking to Ann. Ann wondered to herself if Leslie and Ben were superhuman, because there was no way they could deal with this level of excited energy for this long.
Ben could tell after a while that Ann was flagging slightly, so he bundled up the kids in his arms and pretended to eat all three of them at once. Ann smiled widely at their giddy laughter, and then he was taking them outside so they could run around in the garden.
Leslie laughed to herself as the two women watched them through the glass. Then she turned to Ann.
“It’s so good to see you,” she repeated. “It’s weird, it’s been years since you moved, but I still miss you like crazy.”
Ann smiled sadly. “Aw, Les. I miss you too. I think we will come down for Spring Break for a few days, if that’s okay?”
“Are you kidding?” Leslie asked. “I’ve already made an itinerary. I was counting on it!”
They both laughed, and then sighed happily.
“What is Chris doing with Oliver and Leslie tonight?” Leslie asked. “I hope my namesake is having a good evening.”
Ann laughed to herself. Leslie had never quite gotten over the fact that she had named her daughter after her.
“I think they’re going to make homemade healthy pizzas,” she replied.
“Gross,” Leslie said with a grimace.
“I wouldn’t be so sure. Chris sent me a picture of all the ingredients, and he actually got barbecue sauce!”
“Oh wow,” Leslie replied with a chuckle. “Maybe they won’t suck.”
***
When Ben came back into the room, the three kids were tiredly trudging over to Leslie and Ann and giving them hugs. Ann squeezed each of them tightly, relishing the feeling. Ben then took them upstairs, Leslie shouting a third goodnight to each of them. When Ben came back down, Leslie looked at him in surprise, and he smirked.
“Hey- I can get them to go to bed on time!”
“Thank god,” Leslie said with a tired smile, leaning over to kiss him. “Otherwise we would have both died a long time ago.”
Ann laughed. “Well then I’m very glad of it.”
Ben settled onto the sofa next to Leslie, casually looping his arm over the back of her. Ann couldn’t help but feel happy at the sight of them. They were so happy. And, not only that, but she was happy too. These really were strange times.
“What do you want for dinner?” Leslie asked her. “The triplets ate just before you arrived.”
“Well she obviously wants takeout, surely,” Ben cut in. “If I know Chris, I bet they’re few and far between.”
“They are,” Ann said with a smirk. “But I don’t mind it. If I had takeout all the time, I'd probably balloon.”
“You look great,” Leslie told her. “But you would look great any way, my opalescent tree shark.”
“My?” Ben echoed quietly, while Ann laughed.
“But yeah, takeout sounds great. What’s good in Washington?”
“That’s a good question,” Ben replied. “Leslie and I have sampled many of the different places. Haven’t we, honey?”
Leslie kissed him again. “You’re so sexy when you’re talking about food. And anything.”
They decided to go for pizza, so they could compare it to Chris’ meal, which actually looked appetizing, going off the pictures, but it seemed Oliver and Leslie were more eager to have a flour fight than make dinner.
When the food was ordered, Ben put on a film he knew Ann liked, and the three of them settled down to watch. Ben was holding Leslie, but then Leslie’s head went onto Ann’s shoulder, and Ann rested her head on her.
“It’s so good to see you,” Leslie told her.
Ann smiled. “It’s good to see you too. It’s always good to see you. You too, Ben. And the kids. They’re so adorable.”
Ben chuckled. “Yeah, when they’re not being little monsters. But we wouldn’t change it.”
“No,” Leslie said happily. “Not for the world.”