I have only had a small number of long-term relationships in my lifetime.
But as was typical of most parents, especially Indian parents, they wanted me to get married ASAP. But of course, I would only bring a woman home to meet my parents if I felt they had definitive marriage potential.
When I thought it was appropriate, I would bring my girlfriend home. She would obviously be nervous, as I would be as well if were in the same situation. When we came into the house, Mummy would usually be the first to greet her, and as per usual, she would be super cute, giggly and extremely welcoming.
Then there would be Daddy, who would usually be sitting down waiting to meet her since most of these relationships occurred after he had his stroke, which occurred during my sophomore year of college. She would go over to say hello, and he would wave her to come closer. He would then gently grab her head, pull her close, and kiss her on the forehead.
This would usually catch her off guard and result in a ginormous smile.
This girl could potentially become my wife, could potentially become Daddy's daughter, and he would treat her as such. Since he expressed his love for us every day he could, he would do the same with her. Daddy wanted her to feel as if she were a part of the family, usually her happiness would be apparent. This obviously made me extremely happy because this is the sort of love I grew up in; yes, I could try and explain this to my girlfriend, but it was so much more satisfying for her to actually experience it.
But sadly, these moments will never occur again... and my sadness is palpable. And as it is unlikely I will marry one of the few girls who had the immense privilege of receiving one of those kisses, my future wife will never get to experience it.
I wish I could've found the right girl at the right time so Daddy would have had a chance to welcome a new daughter into his family. But life happens, and I will just tell her even though Daddy isn't physically here to give her that kiss, he is, without a doubt, kissing her forehead from afar and welcoming her into our family.