He looked out the window at his 2012 Ford Transit, rust speckling the wheel wells like a disease. The check engine light had been on since October.
But a 1099 doesn't withhold. No Social Security, no Medicare, no federal income tax had been taken. He owed another $9,000. Minimum. 1099 misc form
blazed across the top. Copy B.
The envelope was the color of old teeth. Leo knew what it was before he tore it open—that distinctive, government-issued off-white that arrives just as the last of the holiday cheer curdles into January dread. He looked out the window at his 2012
He started the van. The check engine light flickered, then stayed on. No Social Security, no Medicare, no federal income
A year of late nights, of driving across three counties to install custom shelving for people who never remembered his name, of hauling MDF boards up four flights of stairs, of patching nail holes for free because he was "a nice guy." All of it, distilled into crisp, impersonal digits.
He set it on the kitchen counter next to a cold mug of coffee. The number in Box 7— Nonemployee Compensation —stared back at him. $47,350.00.