“I don’t want to ruin my dress in your dirty van. Dad, just don’t come, alright?” Sabrina snapped at her father when he offered to drive her to her graduation ceremony. But Pete couldn’t miss such an important event in his daughter’s life. He went to the venue anyway and sat in the section reserved for parents. “Next, we call Miss Sabrina Parker!” the host announced. Pete quickly got up, phone in hand, and started filming as Sabrina received her diploma. He was so proud, but Sabrina’s face turned angry when she saw him. Then, to her surprise, the host continued, “Mr. Parker, could you please join us on stage?” Sabrina was stunned and had no idea what was happening as she watched her dad walk up to the podium.
18-year-old Sabrina, the daughter of a coal miner, believed her dad’s job wasn’t “respectable.” Because of this, she avoided spending time with him, sharing any of her secrets with him, or even let him touch her belongings.
He didn’t own a fancy car, and somehow, his daughter despised him because of that despite the fact he raised her on his own from the day she was born.
One night, Sabrina was on the phone with one of her friends when she heard the front door open. It was her dad, Pete. She was quick to wrap up the conversation because she didn’t want him to know the day of her graduation ceremony was nearing. Seeing him with her, her classmates would make fun of her, she thought to herself.
Pete entered the home with a smile on his face, carrying two packages in his hands. He told Sabrina he had a present for her and left the packages on the table.
Ever since she lost her mom, Pete was there for his daughter. He understood her and always respected her privacy.
Sabrina was happy for the presents, but she always considered her dad not worthy of her attention only because his hands and face were blackened from the coal. She didn’t even let him touch her things.
Eager to check what was inside the packages, she opened one of them and saw a gorgeous dress inside. This put a huge smile on her face which soon faded away when she realized there was a suit for her dad in the other package.
Sabrina bit her lips in frustration. Gathering courage she told her father she didn’t want him there.
Pete was left in complete shock. He had no idea his daughter had such a low opinion of him.
“What did you say?” he asked with confusion.
“Dad, my friends’ fathers are from reputed backgrounds. They are all rich and look like celebrities. I don’t want you standing among them like a…like a mess…dad, I hope you understand. No matter how well you dress, anyone can easily guess you are a coal miner by just looking at your dirty face and hands. I don’t want them to laugh at me. Please don’t come to my graduation.”
Pete was devastated, but he wasn’t mad at his daughter. He knew she didn’t hate him, she just hated his job, and that was fine, because she was in such age when she couldn’t understand the weight of the words she said.
On Sabrina’s big day, Pete offered to drive her to the venue but she refused. She then made him promise he won’t come to her graduation. Pete nodded, but he had other plans. Once Sabrina left the house, he put his new suit on and followed her.
Once there, he took a seat at the parents’ section and applauded at the graduates as they took the stage.
When the presenter called Sabrina’s name, Pete took his phone out and started filming her. She was so proud of herself, walking straight and with a huge smile on her face. But the moment she noticed her dad, her mood changed. She didn’t even smile at him, nothing.
She only thought how she wanted the ceremony to end as soon as possible so she could confront him. But at that moment, the presenter called Pete’s name and asked him to join them on stage.
“Thanks, Mr. Lauren! Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!” Pete said when he took the mic. “Can we have the slideshow, please?!”
Everybody was stunned when the projector started showcasing a slideshow of images of Pete and Sabrina. There were photos of the time she was still very young, until she grew into the young woman she was.
“I love my daughter. Sabrina, I’m so proud of you. I hope your mother would be equally proud if she were here today. Emma, if you are here by any chance, you can see for yourself! You told me I could not raise my daughter alone, but there can be no other dad on earth who is as proud as me now. Congrats, Sabrina…we did it!”
Her father’s act touched Sabrina’s heart. She started crying tears of joy as she joined her dad on stage and gave him a hug. “Thank you so much, dad! I’m sorry,” she said.
The night was over and on their way home, Pete decided it was about time he shared a truth with his daughter. He waited her to turn 18 and be old enough to be able to handle the reality.
Gathering courage, he turned to Sabrina and told her her mother wasn’t dead. She was alive and lived in the same town.
Sabrina almost collapsed. She couldn’t understand why her dad would lie her about something like that for so long.
With tears in his eyes, Pete explained that her mother never wanted her. When she fell pregnant she wanted to leave Sabrina behind and put her up for adoption. When Pete told her not to do it, she confessed that Pete wasn’t even the baby’s real father but offered him to take her and raise her if he wanted to as long as he stick to the story that her mom was dead.
Pete couldn’t let Sabrina end up in foster care or be adopted by complete strangers, so he decided to accept her as his own before divorcing her mother.
“I could not see you as someone else’s child. You were my world, and you are my everything today,” Pete cried.
“You’re not my real father??” Sabrina asked again, wanting to be sure in Pete’s words.
“Honey, I may not be your birth father, but I don’t love you any less. Forget what I just told you. You are always MY DAUGHTER regardless of anything and everything.”
Sabrina couldn’t stop apologizing for calling him “dirty.” She was thankful he didn’t give up on her knowing she wasn’t his biological child.
That was the first and only time Pete and Sabrina talked about her mother. They decided to leave the past where it belonged. But from that moment on, Sabrina was never again ashamed of her dad. On the contrary, she couldn’t be prouder Pete was the man who raised her. She was happy to call him dad.
