Suddenly the atmosphere had changed. All of a sudden it had gotten cold and quiet around the table. Will had gotten silent, staring at his plate.
That sentence came out wrong and she noticed that as soon as the words were out in the open. She wasn't here to make accusations. She didn't feel any grief any anger towards him. She just wanted to know who she was.
"Don't. Don't say that. Ever."
Sonny angrily called her.
"Will went through hell loosing you. Don't accuse him of not wanting you."
Ariana nodded. She felt awful.
"Loosing me? So my mom gave me away?" Her voice was silent. She felt ashamed and wasn't sure whether Sonny and Will would still continue answering to her questions.
Sonny closed the eyes, as if he tried to remember how things happened 18 years ago. He breathed heavily in and out before he started to talk.
"No. Gaby is your mother. Way before Will realised that he was gay he was together with Gaby. One day she split up … "
"Hard to imagine. He is hot. I wouldn't push him out of bed." She stressed the last word, remembering her first day at Salem U.
"Did you just say your dad is hot?" Sonny frowned jokingly.
"Anyway, where was I... Right, Gaby split up and Will came to terms with him being gay. Somehow I sent him mixed signals and he had an One-night stand with her."
Ariana nodded, to show that she was listening not that she understood. Growing up with leaning that being gay is wrong. This whole being gay still got to her.
"Ok, so Gaby is my mother and you are my father. I totally get that now. And then you decided to be gay and left my mom. Was it like this?"
Will shook his head, leaning nearer towards her.
"I never wanted to leave you. Never, do you hear?" His voice was serious.
Ariana believed him though she didn't know him at all. She glanced at Sonny.
"How did you take it, Sonny?"
"You mean with you? … I guess … When Will finally told me I was shocked. We broke up over this. Just for a short while but still. When we got back together Nick gave us a hard time."
Ariana took notice. She had forgotten her dad for a while here. How did he fit into the picture?
"What did dad do?" When she realised what she had said, she bit her lip.
Will noticed that, patting her hand which lay on the table.
"It's ok. I know you see him as your dad."
"He pushed me to give up my parental rights so he could adopt you. He wanted me out of the picture. And I had to give in because he blackmailed me with something."
He sighed.
"Why did he want you 'out of the picture'?" she said picking up his very last words.
Sonny answered instead of Will who then stood up and put the dirty plates to the sink.
"Because we're gay."
"Seriously?"
Will came back to the table his face more hurt than all that previous time.
"That was the hardest thing to live with. That my daughter would be raised with a bigot. That the daughter of a gay parent is raised believing homosexuality is an illness. Involuntary irony."
Ariana was happy to get all those answers. Though she could not believe it. She knew her dad lost his temper from time to time but that? It was just so hard to believe.
Sonny looked at her, worried.
"Are you okay?"
Ariana tried to smile at him, tried to let him now that everything was alright. But she couldn't. Sonny caught that.
"You tried to fake a smile, right?"
Ariana blinked, leaving her eyes longer closed as usual.
"How can you read my mind? You did it for the second time now."
Sonny laughed at that.
"I am living with this guy over here. I can read him like an open book. In the same way I can read you. You wouldn't believe how similar you are."
Ariana stopped dwelling in his words.
"We are similar?"
Sonny's eyes got wide open.
"You don't see it?"
Ariana had no chance to answer that. Will had turned around quickly as he heard Sonny's words.
"I don't guess so. I didn't even recognize that in class and in my office."
She could see Sonny's astonishment. Didn't he know, that she and Will had met?
"Class? Office? What are you talking about?"
Ariana tapped on his arm, pretty much straight away she had Sonny's attention.
"I was in his economics classes. And I was the one walking in on you."
Sonny fixated the table. He obviously tried to think back to that day. Suddenly his eyes widened.
"That was you?"
"Yep. That was me." Ariana smiled.
"That was the day, I came to you for advise, wasn't it?"
Will approvingly smiled at her.
"Yes and I hope I was able to help."
Ariana stood up. She went some steps towards Will, who was still standing by the sink.
"You did help me. You both. Today."
Sonny stood up as well and went to the fringe putting the butter and cheese back inside.
Ariana cleared her throat.
"Will?" Her voice was low again, as if she had gotten shy all of a sudden. At her word Will turned towards her.
"It might be awkward but … "
With those words she reached out for Will and as soon as he made those three little steps, she wrapped her hands around him, holding him tight. She felt that he was surprised by this hug at first his hands just were hanging down. Then suddenly he replied the hug.
The moment he did this Ariana felt like every missing piece was gone. She felt as whole as she hadn't felt her whole life. Somehow everything in this moment felt right. She smelled his perfume and she knew it. She felt his strong arms around her body and she felt at home. He was her home.