"Mysteries would be fun," Hugh smiled, taking a moment to order his entree as the waiter returned, offering the young woman a warm smile and his full attention as he did, but as she walked away, he turned back to Theodore. "I feel as if you could do mysteries. That is the genre of the book and sometimes screenplay that I was writing, when I was acting the part of an author earlier," he said, aware of how ridiculous he felt to be saying that to an actual published author. "Only it was less cozy and more of the giant stone manor on a moor with a mysterious family secret and a dark and brooding hero. I think cats sounds much better to be honest, and my only request is that you don't forget me when you're a New York Times bestseller."
Hugh nodded. "I wished many a time as a boy that I was an only child, although I suspect it would have been much more difficult to obsessively watch princess cartoons without a sister, and ultimately - my siblings did probably allow me to be the irresponsible artist type," his tone was light, even though the topic could be challenging.
He ran his finger around the edge of the cup, considering. "I'm still Hugh the actor, I think," he tilted his head, glancing out the window to the lights of the city outside. There was something comforting about it - all of the people and the activity of it, even though none of it had anything to do with him directly. "Acting still feels right. I think it's my personal self that's shifted the most." A beat, and then some explanation felt maybe necessary. "I used to swipe right a lot? These days I don't even have tinder on my phone anymore," he laughed lightly, looking down and reaching to finish off the final part of his drink and leaving the conversation lighter purposefully.
He'd promised himself he wouldn't dwell tonight. Theodore was easy to talk to- so far about almost anything that had been brought up, but also Hugh hated dwelling on his failures and frustrations and he didn't want to really dive into how strange it sometimes felt to be alone. As if he were holding his breath and waiting for the air to come back. Instead he looked up, eyes warm and twinkling just a little. "Running is a form of torture invented by PE teachers and people who hate us. Everyone knows the only valid form of exercise is dancing, and yoga, and I rather suspect - modifications notwithstanding - that you could still do some of each of those things."