Chapter 129 [Bonus ] 129 - Family Surprise
?Since Ethan wanted to have some fun on the way to my grandparents' house, we let my parents buy the meat and things to take to my grandparents while we walked down the street.
After driving around the neighborhood a few times on the way to my grandparents' house, we finally arrived.
Since my parents were going to the market to buy meat and drinks, Ethan and I arrived at my grandparents' house first.
From a distance, I saw my Uncle Carlos' blue Mustang and my Uncle John's black Audi RS3 parked on the street in front of my grandparents' house, which made me smile.
But that smile soon disappeared when I saw Karen's husband David's white Porsche Macan, which meant that Karen and Jerry were there, too, which made me roll my eyes.
Even though they were there, I didn't leave and just kept driving until I stopped in front of my grandparents' house.
Over the roar of the motorcycle's engine, a curious head came over the back fence and saw Ethan and me getting off the bike.
Both of us were wearing black shirts, gray pants and black helmets, and most importantly, since Ethan had been working out with me, his little body had gained some muscle, giving the little boy a slightly defined body, making him look like he was literally a mini version of me, which confused the curious eyes.
But just in case, the owner of the eyes came to see who it was that had arrived.
When I saw the man coming towards us, I smiled.
It was my Uncle John, my father's older brother.
Although he was a more reserved man, he was always very quiet.
Even though he didn't go to college, my Uncle John started working as a mechanic and now had his own shop where he worked on more sporty vehicles.
Having his own shop, Uncle John made good money, so much so that he even asked my father to work with him, but my father wasn't sure about learning a new trade at that age and didn't want to bother John with it.
But Uncle John was always a very honest and kind man.
Perhaps because he recognized the rumble of the motorcycle, he was the first to notice it and come over to see what was going on.
When I saw him cautiously approaching, I smiled as I kept my helmet on my head, not taking it off to see what his reaction would be.
Ethan, who loved wearing his new helmet and saw that I was wearing it on my head as well, kept his helmet on as he looked at Uncle John with a hidden smile.
"Can I help you?" Uncle John asked intrigued as he looked at us.
"Don't you recognize your nephew?" I asked, not even trying to disguise my voice in case he didn't recognize me.
That made him look at me a little embarrassed, then he looked at Ethan, trying to figure out who it was.
"Take off your helmet, Ethan." I said amused.
Hearing the name Ethan, my Uncle John was surprised to realize that the little boy with the helmet was Ethan, which made him laugh and come over to Ethan to give him a hug.
"Long time no see Ethan, you're so big!" He said smiling, making Ethan smile back. "James really missed playing with you, he's playing inside with Sophia if you want to go play with them."
Smiling, Ethan nodded and ran over to James, our cousin Uncle John's son, who was only a year younger than Ethan.
As Ethan walked into the house, Uncle John stared at me in embarrassment, still not knowing who I was.
I took off my helmet and looked at him curiously, wondering if he would recognize me now, but the confusion on his face only grew as he looked between my face and my hair.
"Are you Olivia's boyfriend?" He asked insecurely and embarrassed.
Laughing, I shook my head and replied, "No Uncle John, I'm Noah."
Hearing what I said, Uncle John's expression froze as he looked at me, not knowing how to react. "Noah... Noah... Jonathan's son Noah?!"
"Yes!" I laughed as I approached him and gave him a half hug.
He finally responded when he answered the half hug with a pat on my back and turned back to me.
"Noah... how did you change so much?" He asked as he looked at my arms, my chest, my stomach and was shocked at how much I had changed.
"I started studying nutrition, proper exercise, biology, anatomy, everything I needed to change my lifestyle, and now I'm reaping the rewards." I explained an excuse I'd made up.
I couldn't just say I started working out on my own and got this in three months, could I?
With a confused nod, he partially accepted my answer, but still wondered how such a big change was possible. "Where are your parents and Olivia?" He asked as he looked around.
"They stopped at a market to buy some meat and drinks, since Ethan wanted to ride his motorcycle I came with him first." I said as I nodded towards the motorcycle.
This drew my Uncle John's attention to the motorcycle and a look of appreciation came over his face.
"A Honda CB1000RR... good choice, did you buy it?" He asked as he walked around it.
"Yeah, I bought it two days ago, I haven't even had time to check it to see if there's anything wrong with it." I said.
"It's fine, if you want to bring it to my workshop, we can check it out for you there." He said looking at me excitedly.
"Okay, I'll take her there this week then." I nodded and agreed to take it there, knowing how professional he was.
"I never thought you'd buy a motorcycle, especially with the way you were before..." He laughed as he looked between the bike and me.
"I wanted to buy a car... but I couldn't afford the car I wanted, so I bought the bike." I said as I nodded.
"What car?" He asked interested.
Being a garage owner and a car guy, he was interested in what car I wanted to get.
"I was thinking of a Honda NSX 95." I said, which made his eyes light up.
"I see you know what you're doing..." He replied excitedly. "What model?"
"Type R, obviously." I laughed, making him nod even more excitedly.
"Well done, well done, looks like you've grown up champ." He laughed as he patted me on the back proudly.
Laughing at his reaction, I was ready to go out to the backyard to say hello to my other uncles, but another pair of eyes saw us talking and looked over curiously.
"Hey John, I need your help over here at the barbecue." My Uncle Carlos came over to call my Uncle John, but when he saw me standing next to Uncle John, he was confused. "Is he your friend, John?"
Laughing, my John replied. "This is Noah, he just arrived with Ethan."
Upon hearing that I was Noah, my Uncle Carlos' reaction was exactly the same as my Uncle John's, which made me realize that instead of explaining who I was and how I got that way, maybe it would be easier to explain it to everyone at once?
Looking at the motorcycle behind me, Uncle Carlos' eyes widened as he began to stare at it, just like Uncle John's, but instead of a technical stare like Uncle John's, Uncle Carlos' was more like someone appreciating a beauty.
His shock alternated between my appearance and my riding such a cool bike.
As the three of us chatted, a pair of not-so-well-meaning eyes were pointed in our direction from inside the house where the women were.
I didn't know it at the time, but when Karen heard that the family was having a barbecue tonight, she didn't realize that the reason for the barbecue was so my father could pay off everyone's debts.
She thought it was just an ordinary family dinner that my grandmother had invited her to.
So she wanted to use it to further burnish my father's image and mine in front of the rest of the family because he hadn't paid anyone but her yet.
Especially since she was sure we wouldn't show up, as had been the case with the last few family dinners.
But when she saw Ethan in the living room playing with James and Sophia, she was confused.
And when she saw me standing next to a new motorcycle talking to my Uncle Carlos and Uncle John, she thought of something she could use to burnish our image even more.
After all, what courage would I have to buy such an expensive-
looking motorcycle when I still owed money to the whole family?
So while I was chatting and having a good time with my aunt and uncle in the driveway, Karen took advantage of the fact that I wasn't there and no one but my two uncles had seen me, and started talking bad about me, trying to paint me in a bad light with the family, as dishonest for possibly using the money they had lent my family to buy a motorcycle.
Too bad they didn't realize that the reason for today's family meeting was to pay back the money to everyone.
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