Parks and Recreation Episode 7.09 Pie-Mary

At their kitchen table, Leslie and Ben meet with Jen Barkley to discuss campaign tactics over the next few days. It's a busy schedule and Ben makes a choice to skip the traditional candidates' wives' pie-baking contest, the Pie-mary. Leslie agrees, it seems like a waste of time. But Jen warns Leslie that being a candidate's wife can have its own unique hazards.

April meets with Ron to break the news to him that she's moving to Washington to take a new job with the American Service Foundation. It smacks of government work to Ron, but there's little he can say to convince her to stick around and join the private sector. Resigned, he informs April that since she's leaving town, he needs her to return the key to his house that he gave her years ago, for use in case of emergencies.

With Leslie by his side, Ben stands near an old warehouse in old downtown Pawnee, trumpeting his Gryzzl-fueled redevelopment plan for the press. As Ben speaks, a reporter interrupts to ask Leslie why she's skipping the Pie-mary. Is she trying to make a statement on behalf of women? Does she know she'd be the first candidate's wife to ever skip the Pie-mary? Reporter Mike Patterson takes it a step further, asking Leslie which other traditions she's against and wondering: who's watching her children? Leslie and Ben try to steer the hostile reporters back toward the redevelopment plan, but it's clear that breaking a Pawnee tradition like the Pie-mary is serious business. Citing their busy schedule, Ben and Leslie head off.

April and Andy head to City Hall to uncover the secret stash box where April hid Ron's house key long ago. Under the floorboards, April finds the box. But there's no key inside, just a movie ticket stub to "Twilight: New Moon," four human teeth and a note April wrote: "If you are looking for Ron's key, I moved it and you'll never find it." April can't remember where she put the key. They've got a puzzle on their hands.

Leslie and Ben watch Mike Patterson on TV as he pillories Leslie for her attack on family values. He even brings out June Hartwell, wife of the incumbent congressman, to bolster his case. "Ms. Knope chose to try to have it all," she says. "I chose to put my family first." As Ben turns off the TV, Leslie wonders if she should just give in and enter the dumb contest after all. She really doesn't want to be the distraction that derails the campaign. Jen Barkley was right.

April and Andy go to Ron's office to sheepishly admit that they can't find the house key. Ron examines the stash box and its curious clues and immediately becomes enthralled. Ron is a puzzle master and a challenge of this order has his fever rising. He grabs his go bag and the three of them head out on the hunt.

At home, Ben lays out some pie making supplies for Leslie. She's actually excited for the challenge when the doorbell rings. It's Elise Yarktin, from the Indiana Organization for Women (I.O.W.). She's come to inform Leslie that her decision to enter the pie-baking contest is a setback for all women and that if she enters, Elise's organization will be at the event to protest. Elise leaves and Ben and Leslie are left to rethink the dilemma yet again. And then Ben hits on the winning idea: he'll enter the contest, flipping the tradition on its head. What's more, Ben plans to bake not a pie, but a desert calzone. It's a revolutionary idea - and one that will get Elise and the I.O.W off their case.

Ron's first stop is to quiz Donna. She recollects going to see "Twilight: New Moon" with April eight years ago, recalling that April was stuporous because she'd just had her wisdom teeth out. That explains the teeth, Ron announces. Donna goes on to recall that April stopped by the shoeshine stand before they attended the movie. In a flash Ron, April and Andy head off to the current location of the shoeshine stand, in the basement. There, they encounter former animal control officers Harris and Brett who explain that councilman Fielding Milton had the shoeshine stand taken to his office.

Donna notices Garry outside on his knees, staring down a drainage grate in the courtyard. He explains that he's using his belts as a fishing line in an attempt to recover his keys, which he dropped down the grate while trying to recover his wedding ring. Soon enough, he drops his belt into the grate as well. Donna decides to stick around and watch the fun. The two old friends order dinner and talk about their lives, Garry explaining that his wife is used to his blundering but still takes him to task. It's a lovely evening and Donna drops Garry off, sans his belts, keys, wedding ring and replacement wedding ring, all of which sit at the bottom of the drainage grate.

The pie contest is in full swing. MC Martin Housely calls Leslie ("Mrs. Ben Wyatt") to the stage to present, but it's Ben who steps to the microphone, enticing the crowd with a promise of a culinary trip to Napoli. But before he can explain his creation, a crowd of protesters comes marching in, chanting "Free Ben Wyatt!" It's a local men's rights organization, the Male Men, here to protest the oppression Ben is suffering at the hands of his wife. Leslie and Ben are both confused - and they're not alone.

The candidate crisis grows. Local TV personality Joan Callamezzo convenes a roundtable on her show, "Pawnee Today," to discuss the issue. Elise is there, saying that Ben's gesture didn't go far enough, along with traditional-family advocates Marcia and Marshall Langman, Sasha Dunkirk of Women Against Feminism, adult film star Brandi Maxxxx and Kipp Bunthart of The Male Men. It's a profusion of confusion as only Joan can deliver it, but the impact is clear: it's not helping Ben's campaign.

Jen Barkley suggests to Ben and Leslie that they simply give a blanket apology and move on. They call a press conference to talk about Ben's redevelopment plan and to try to dismiss the controversy. Despite a mixed crowd of supporters and protesters, they stick to their true feelings, calling into question the ridiculous lines of inquiry about whether women should try to have it all, why Leslie changed her hair and who's watching the kids. The point is, Leslie tells the crowd, there isn't just one ideal lifestyle or career choice. It's all about the freedom to be an individual. The crowd offers a mixed reaction of applause and boos. They'll take it. Later, Elise comes by to tell Leslie and Ben that the I.O.W. was mightily impressed by the way they handled themselves today; the organization is throwing its full support behind Ben.

The next morning, Donna shows up at Garry's house with a bag of goodies. She had the maintenance department open up the grate so she could retrieve the bounty of personal effects that Garry's lost over the years. She hands him a plastic bag with his keys, rings, belt, credit card, cell phone and sundry other items. She's also brought a bag of oranges for Garry and Gayle to enjoy. Garry's touched; he knows he's got a true friend in Donna.

Up at Councilman Milton's office, April rifles through the shoeshine stand, but all she can find is an early love note from her to Andy. The trail's cold. Ron tells April to meet him in his office. She sits opposite his desk as he pours them both a scotch. He explains to April that he changes his house locks every 16 days. Even if they had found the key, it would have been useless. The point of the quest was for it to be a delightfully unsolvable challenge, as it turns out. Ron goes on to tell April how much he admires her and trusts her - and how sad he will be to see her leave Pawnee. He looks over the love note April left for Andy, reading it aloud and chuckling. All of a sudden, April remembers where she hid the key.

We cut to April and Ron under the shade of an ancient oak tree. Ron digs near the tree's base with a hand shovel, unearthing a metal box with the key inside. Ron asks her why she buried the key here. "Because this tree reminds me of you, it's strong and quiet and always here when you need it. Or whatever." Ron's touched by the kind words... and by the recollection that he buried some gold himself beneath that very tree. Kindred spirits indeed.