Our water bill soared to $214, and I discovered my neighbor secretly siphoning from our outdoor faucet, prompting unexpected advice from my husband.

The warmth in his eyes vanished.

“So was I.”

“We searched every nook and cranny to uncover the issue in our home.”

Ben shut the dishwasher with a clang.

“Ordinary folks don’t leap to the conclusion that a neighbor is pilfering hundreds of gallons of water.”

“Particularly when it’s someone we’ve trusted for over a decade.”

Last month, the weight of $214 shook our world.