Re: Dietre A./Hugh C.: On the patio
It was impossible for Hugh to not notice the shift in the man next to him, and Hugh hadn't been trying to cause more stress. Definitely maybe should not have broached this conversation with a drink in his hand. And technically he no longer had a drink in his hand, but he'd drank most of it, which might make it worse.
"Hey," he said softly, instead of asking anything, he just reached his now empty hand over to cover Dietre's with both of his. "We don't have to... um... tonight. We can just... go listen to music?"
Hugh didn't know if that was the right choice or not, but he also didn't want to ruin the evening, and it seemed clear to him that this wasn't a good time or that Dietre maybe didn't want to -- which left him a little uncertain, too. Maybe Dietre wasn't as interested as he thought, or maybe Dietre just didn't want to talk tonight. Hugh squeezed his hands gently, and then lifted one to reach for the Old Fashioned, which he finished in one quick gulp. "We can go find a place downstairs," he suggested. "Maybe see if anyone's watching movies, and if not, we can use the speakers for the music instead."