{"id":420,"date":"2024-08-24T23:38:18","date_gmt":"2024-08-24T23:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsc72.com\/?p=420"},"modified":"2024-08-24T23:38:18","modified_gmt":"2024-08-24T23:38:18","slug":"my-father-took-back-the-motorcycle-he-gifted-me-after-i-restored-it-so-i-got-my-revenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsc72.com\/?p=420","title":{"rendered":"My Father Took Back the Motorcycle He Gifted Me after I Restored It, So I Got My Revenge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Seth\u2019s parents ignore his birthday, but then his father reluctantly gives him an old motorcycle as a way of making things right. But after Seth spends months working on a special motorcycle restoration project, his father suddenly wants it back. Seth must decide whether to return the old Harley with ease or take his revenge\u2026 When I turned eighteen, my birthday came and went without so much as a mention from my parents. No cake, no cards, not one birthday present, and, of course, they didn\u2019t even show up to my dorm room. I tried to play it cool, but honestly, it stung more than I wanted to admit.The next morning, though, my dad called me to go over to their home. \u201cI\u2019ve got something for you, Seth,\u201d he said, tossing me a set of keys. I caught them effortlessly, but I was confused. \u201cWhat\u2019s this for?\u201d I asked. They didn\u2019t look like car keys, and I already had my mom\u2019s old car anyway.My dad nodded toward a dusty tarp in the corner of the garage. It had been there for as long as I could remember, covering up something that I was told not to touch.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>When I pulled the tarp off, I couldn\u2019t believe what I was seeing. It was my dad\u2019s old Harley, a \u201973 Shovelhead. It was the stuff of my childhood dreams, the bike that had always seemed just out of reach. All I had wanted to do when I was younger was steal my dad\u2019s leather jacket and sit on the motorcycle. But he always shouted at me whenever I tried to touch it.\u201cIf there\u2019s one scratch on it, Seth,\u201d he would say, \u201cI\u2019ll take all your spending money away.\u201d That was enough to keep me away from the dream bike. \u201cYou\u2019re giving me the Harley?\u201d I asked, my voice a mix of disbelief and excitement. My father shrugged it off like it was nothing.\u201cYeah, why not, son?\u201d he declared. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t run in years, to be honest, so good luck with that. Consider it a late birthday gift, Seth.\u201d I could barely believe it. I was finally going to ride that bike, and feel the engine roaring beneath me, the wind in my hair. It was going to be everything I had dreamt of and more. I was finally going to be like my dad. I ran my hand over the cracked leather seat, taking in the gift.\u201cThanks, Dad,\u201d I said. \u201cI promise I\u2019ll take good care of her.\u201d The moment those keys were in my hand, that motorcycle became my new obsession. \u201cJeez, son,\u201d the mechanic said when I took the Harley over in a friend\u2019s old pickup truck. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot to be done here. But I can do the big things for you, and you\u2019ll be able to sort out the smaller things if you\u2019re confident enough.\u201dI saved every penny from my barista role at the caf\u00e9. I was extra polite to all my customers, hoping for large tips, ready to go straight into the motorcycle restoration fund. Soon, my nights, weekends, and any and all free time I had were spent outside with the motorcycle. I tore it down and put it back together, better than ever, restoring old parts. I watched countless YouTube tutorials and read every manual I could find.\u201cWhat are you doing now?\u201d my roommate, Brett, asked when I was hunched over my laptop on the couch. \u201cI\u2019m looking at forums online for tips about the motorcycle,\u201d I said. \u201cThat\u2019s all you do these days, buddy,\u201d he said, chuckling.Fourteen months later, the day finally came. I polished the last piece of chrome, stood back, and admired my work. The Harley gleamed under the garage lights, looking like it had just rolled off the assembly line. \u201cGood job, Seth,\u201d I muttered to myself. I could hardly contain my excitement as I thought about showing it to my parents, especially my dad. I imagined the pride on his face, the way his eyes would light up when he saw what I\u2019d done.I hoped that he would finally be proud of something I had done. But nothing prepared me for what was to come next. I rode it over to my parents\u2019 house, the engine purring beneath my legs like a big cat. As I parked in the driveway, I felt a rush of nerves. I hadn\u2019t felt this anxious since I was waiting for my acceptance letter for college. \u201cMom? Dad?\u201d I called, walking into the hallway.\u201cWe\u2019re in the kitchen,\u201d my mom called. I walked into the kitchen, and there they were. My dad was drinking a cup of tea, and Mom was busy putting together a lasagna. \u201cI\u2019ve got something to show you!\u201d I said. \u201cIt\u2019s outside.\u201d They followed me outside, their eyes going wide when they saw the motorcycle.\u201cOh my gosh, Seth,\u201d my dad exclaimed. \u201cIs that the Harley? My old Harley? She looks beautiful!\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d I said, grinning. \u201cI\u2019ve spent the last year working on it. What do you think?\u201d Before they could answer, my dad moved closer to the motorcycle. His eyes narrowed as he took it in. He ran his hands along the chrome as though he couldn\u2019t believe his own eyes. \u201cYou did all this?\u201d he asked, his voice tight.\u201cI did!\u201d I said, beaming proudly. \u201cEvery spare moment and extra cash went into this project. And now she\u2019s perfect.\u201d For a second, I thought I saw pride flicker in his eyes, but then his expression changed. His face darkened, and I felt something change in me. \u201cYou know, Seth,\u201d he said slowly, \u201cthis bike is worth a hell of a lot more now. I think I was too generous when I gave it to you.\u201dI blinked, not understanding. \u201cWhat do you mean, Dad?\u201d My father cleared his throat, not meeting my eyes. \u201cI\u2019m going to take it back,\u201d he said, his tone final. \u201cAnd I\u2019ll give you $1,000 for your trouble.\u201d \u201cAre you serious?\u201d I asked, barely containing my anger.He nodded. \u201cIt\u2019s only fair, Seth.\u201d I wanted to yell, to tell him how unfair he was being, how much time and money I\u2019d poured into that bike. But I knew that arguing wouldn\u2019t get me anywhere. My father was too stubborn. \u201cSure,\u201d I said. \u201cWhatever you think is fair.\u201d He looked surprised that I didn\u2019t fight him on it, but I wasn\u2019t done with my revenge. If he wanted to play dirty, then fine. I could play that game too. I just needed to be smarter about it.A few days later, I saw my father posting on social media about his \u201cnewly restored\u201d motorcycle and that he was taking the Harley to an upcoming bike meet with his old biking buddies. \u201cNow it\u2019s on,\u201d I said to myself. When the day of the meet arrived, I watched from a distance as my father rolled up on the Harley, looking every bit the proud owner of a beautiful bike. He revved the engine, drawing the attention of everyone in the parking lot.But what he didn\u2019t know was that I\u2019d made a little modification of my own. Under the seat, I\u2019d installed a small switch\u2014it was nothing fancy. But it was a precaution in case the Harley was ever stolen. The switch, when accessed, would cut off the fuel line with a quick flick of the remote, which was firmly planted in my hand. I waited until he was right in the middle of the crowd, basking in the admiration, and then, from a distance, I pressed the button.The Harley sputtered, the engine dying with a weak cough. Soon, my father\u2019s smug grin disappeared as he tried to restart it, but the engine wouldn\u2019t give. The murmurs began, making their way through the crowd, and a few of his buddies laughed under their breath. \u201cNeed a hand, Dad?\u201d I asked when I made my way over to him.He glared at me, but I could see the desperation in his eyes. He nodded, too embarrassed to say anything. I knelt down, pretending to fiddle with the bike for a moment before \u201cfixing\u201d the problem by turning off the switch. The engine roared back to life, but by then, the damage was done. The look of embarrassment on my dad\u2019s face was worth every second of the work I had put into the Harley.He handed me the keys, his jaw clenched tightly. \u201cIt\u2019s yours,\u201d he said, walking away. I smiled, knowing the Harley was mine, and so was my father\u2019s respect, even if he couldn\u2019t say it.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seth\u2019s parents ignore his birthday, but then his father reluctantly gives him an old motorcycle as a way of making things right. But after Seth spends months working on a&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"views":1043,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsc72.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsc72.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsc72.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsc72.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsc72.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=420"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsc72.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":422,"href":"https:\/\/newsc72.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420\/revisions\/422"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsc72.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsc72.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsc72.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsc72.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}