My father came into my café and asked me how to order oat milk

Dear Delyara, My father and I did not speak for four years after I told him I was gay. He did not disown me dramatically. He simply became quiet, distant, disappointed in a way that made every conversation feel like unpaid debt. I stopped trying. I work in a café now. This morning, Dad walked in. I nearly dropped a tray. He stood at the counter staring at the menu as if it were written in another alphabet and asked me, “How does this oat milk thing work?” I said it is milk made from oats. He said, “That sounds suspicious.” Same Dad. He ordered tea with normal milk. We sat for twenty minutes during my break. He asked about my partner by name. First time. He did not apologize for the four years. I did not force him. When he left, he put five euros into the tip jar even though I told him not to. I cried in the staff toilet afterward, partly from relief and partly from anger that such a small visit could mean so much after such a long absence. I do not know whether we are repaired. I know my father crossed the city, entered a café he had never visited, and asked a ridiculous question because perhaps he did not know how else to begin.