Curious, Isn't It?

It is a beautiful spring morning in Odyssey, and Ben and Esther are taking a shortcut Ben has discovered through the woods on their way to Whit's End. The shortcut is turning out to be slower than the long way, but before Esther can complain much further, she spots something through the trees: Mr. Whittaker, out near the cemetery, talking with a woman neither of them has ever seen. Esther decides that is curious indeed, and she pulls Ben closer so they can hear.

What they overhear sounds like big news. The woman tells Whit that this is all so sudden and that it is a very big step. Whit agrees, but says he thinks it is time. She asks, a little carefully, what about his wife, and Whit answers that this is definitely something she would have wanted him to do. Then he hands the woman a ring, she calls it beautiful, and the two of them walk off toward her car, both of them delighted. Esther has no doubts left. Mr. Whittaker is getting married.

Ben is not so sure, and he says so all afternoon while Esther gathers what she calls proof. Outside a flower shop the two of them meet the florist, who has just let a customer drive away without his receipt again - the third time this week. The children offer to deliver it, and the moment the florist steps back inside, Esther reads it: a very large order of flowers, to be sent to Miss Emma Douglas in Connellsville. Back at Whit's End they find a van from Moscowitz's haberdashery at the curb. Morty Moscowitz, cheerfully unimpressed by two nosy kids, explains that the big box holds Mr. Whittaker's old tuxedo, freshly altered and repaired. A secret meeting, plans, a ring, flowers, and now a tux. Even Ben gives in.

Connie is intrigued and Eugene insists the facts do not support the conclusion, but the evidence keeps piling up. Bernard Walton mentions that Whit asked him to wash and wax the car for a trip - to Connellsville. Then Whit himself comes downstairs in the tuxedo, announces he will be gone until evening, and asks everyone to get the place extra clean because he is bringing someone very special back with him. When the phone rings and he greets Emma warmly, the last doubt disappears.

Bernard declares that Whit has done more for Odyssey than anyone and it is time the town did something for him, and Connie's idea of a surprise party takes hold. Invitations go out by telephone to the whole town. George Barclay arranges the gift through his company's travel agent, and a story about the wedding is already written for the front page of the next morning's Odyssey Times. When Whit walks in with Emma on his arm, a roomful of friends shouts congratulations, and George gives a warm speech welcoming Emma to Odyssey and presenting the happy couple with a luxury cruise to the Bahamas.

Whit thanks everyone for going to so much trouble - and then gently explains that he and Emma are not married and have no plans to be. The question of where the idea came from travels backward through the crowd, from the newspaper to Bernard to Connie and Eugene, and lands squarely on Ben and Esther. Emma, Whit explains, runs a senior citizen center in Connellsville that is raising money for a new wing. He donated jewelry to the cause, some of it his late wife's, for Emma to have appraised and sold, because he felt it was time to let it go and knew his wife would have approved of helping a worthy cause. The flowers were decorations for that evening's formal fundraising dinner, which is also why he needed the old tux.

Ben apologizes, and reminds Esther that he told her Mr. Whittaker would not like them snooping. When Esther tries to hush him, Whit says Ben is exactly right - no one likes a snoop - and Esther apologizes too. Then he shares the real news: the dinner raised more than fifty thousand dollars for the new wing, so the party can go on for the right reason, with Connie, Bernard, and Eugene serving the guests they invited. Emma says she has not had this much fun in years, and when George offers her the cruise tickets, she agrees to cash them in for the center on the condition that he show her where to find the punch. Whit tells Ben and Esther what happens when curiosity gets the better of common sense, adds that they will remember the lesson better while helping clean up in the morning, and goes off to speak with their parents and to call Dale Jacobs, who may be able to turn the whole mix-up into a good story for the senior citizen center.

Whether the lesson entirely took is another matter. A few minutes later Esther notices Eugene over at the counter, talking to a girl, and hears herself say the words all over again: curious, isn't it. Ben is already yelling for Mr. Whittaker.