As the rental car rolled to a stop on the dark road, her fear increased by the moment. She knew immediately something was wrong. The car had been making a strange noise for the last few miles, but she ignored it because she didn’t want to be late. Now the engine had died completely. She tried the key again. Nothing. “Great,” she muttered. She checked her phone. No signal. Of course. She stepped outside and looked at the tires. The back one was completely flat. She wasn’t exactly good at this kind of thing. She had watched a video once about changing a tire, but watching and doing are very different. She opened the trunk and found the spare. She wasn’t sure where to even begin. Headlights appeared in the distance. Her heart jumped. A truck pulled up behind her and a man stepped out. “Car trouble?” he asked. “Yeah,” she admitted. He offered to help. She hesitated for a second but then nodded. He worked quickly and confidently. She felt slightly embarrassed for not knowing how. “You should learn how to do this yourself,” he said kindly. “I know,” she replied. When he finished, she thanked him over and over. “It’s no big deal,” he said. But she could see he was tired. Maybe he had somewhere to be too. He got back in his truck and drove away. She sat back in her car and thought about how often she relied on other people without realizing it. She started the engine and it worked. And that was the moment he finally understood what it had cost him.