Here’s to dads everywhere: Exceeding all expectations including his own, Doug Bishop attended his daughter Sophie’s wedding on Saturday.
He was expected to be a no-show due to a long and well documented history of not attending college graduation ceremonies, scheduled dance class pickups, and baptisms he’d insisted on in the first place, but surprised his daughter by showing up, without even an RSVP.
“I’m not much of a special events kinda guy,” the old softy admits. What a trooper!
It’s a shame no one caught the moment on camera when Bishop shuffled into the church as the organ had already started playing, ignoring the seating suggestions and instead sitting alone in a far back pew. The groom and mother-of-the bride even murmured “Thank fucking god” in unison.
“My ex-wife called me 14 times this morning so I figured it was a sign I better come,” Doug says. “Also, my softball game got rescheduled, so hey, why not?”
As Sophie’s stepdad walked her down the aisle and Doug muttered to himself darkly, Daddy’s little girl broke her beatific smile to give her biological dad a threatening look, mouthing the words, “Please don’t ruin this for me,” and the two shared a poignant moment of connection that only a father and daughter can have!
“I’d resigned myself to the fact that he wouldn’t come,” Sophie says. “So I’m so grateful he was able to make it to share my special day, drunken, racist jokes about my in-laws aside.”
At the reception, Doug wore his heart on his sleeve, drinking in a corner and staring threateningly at the goings-on around him. In a touching tribute to their bond, Doug even insisted on sharing a dance with his newlywed daughter. As he stiffly transferred balance from one foot to another, the onlookers cheered, all except the bride’s mother, who was frantically trying to deal with an ice shortage and make sure the car she bought for the new couple was parked outside.
Let’s hear it for Dad of the year!!
