After six years at Heckert Auto & Diesel, Becky Lindahl resigned to accept a job offering health insurance for her children. She gave her boss, Dale Heckert, two weeks of notice, completed her work, and prepared instructions for her replacement. She believed she was leaving on good terms. Then Dale arrived at her house on Friday afternoon with several buckets.
Before Becky could ask what was happening, he dumped greasy pennies across her driveway. He announced that the coins represented her final $915 paycheck and told her to count them. Her children, Noah and Lily, watched from the doorway as oil stained the concrete. Becky felt humiliated, but she refused to let Dale see her cry that terrible Friday afternoon.
The driveway glittered beneath dirty engine oil. Becky stared at the enormous mess and wondered how someone she had worked beside for six years could behave so cruelly. She had fulfilled her responsibilities. She had simply needed better benefits for her family. Dale drove away without offering an apology, leaving her to deal with thousands of coins.
