Like a Good Neighbor

Two thieves watch Mr. Hollard’s house and wait for him to leave. Once the coast seems clear, they break in and steal his garbage disposal, washing machine, and dishwasher. They hurry away when Mr. Hollard returns, although his talkative bird, Sybil, has heard enough to repeat one of their insults.

Mr. Hollard tells Olivia Parker that neighbors used to know one another and notice what happened nearby. Now, he says, people often stay behind closed doors with electronic distractions. His words make Olivia wonder how she can take Jesus’ command to love her neighbors more seriously.

Olivia asks Wooton for advice, and he takes a strawberry-rhubarb pie to Beulah Kramer, the new woman living beside him. Mrs. Kramer greets him with suspicion. She accuses him of taking her Poetry Society mail and complains about the merry-go-round he plans to build in his backyard. Her chilly response does not discourage Olivia, who bakes a large batch of brownies and begins offering them around town.

Her first attempts are not promising. Detective Don Polehaus believes tall fences and strong locks make good neighbors, and his diet keeps him from accepting a brownie. Wally Haggler, the salvage-yard owner, cannot eat chocolate, though he offers Olivia a discount. Eugene accepts the smallest brownie and encourages her, pointing out that people may be more willing to help one another if someone first gives them the opportunity.

Soon afterward, burglars strike Eugene and Katrina’s home while Katrina is away at a teaching conference. They take several appliances, the washer and dryer, and pieces of copper pipe. Their failed attempt to remove the water heater floods the basement. Olivia quickly gathers Mr. Hollard, Wally, Polehaus, and other neighbors into a bucket brigade to help Eugene control the damage.

As Polehaus compares the two burglaries, he recognizes that the thieves are after copper from old appliances and plumbing. Wally remembers receiving an unusually large load of copper at his salvage yard, and his customer records, security video, and license-plate information give the police the evidence they need. Boone and Cameron Evans are soon arrested for the burglaries.

Meanwhile, Wooton has lovingly built a merry-go-round horse and named it Beulah, but Mrs. Kramer still opposes the project and finds a bylaw that she believes will stop it. Wooton decides to place the merry-go-round in McAlister Park instead. By giving up his own plans even when his neighbor remains unkind, he shows Olivia that loving a neighbor sometimes requires sacrifice. Olivia’s small efforts have already drawn a divided neighborhood together, helped a friend in need, and played a part in solving the crimes, proving to Wooton that she has become a very good neighbor.