Re: NYC: Hannah & Hugh
"You should write books, Hannah," Hugh told her with a smile as he listened. "You have a way with words that's honestly all sorts of beautiful, because I think that's exactly what this is: an orchestra. And maybe the character is that it's not just tonight's orchestra, it's every orchestra that's ever been here in this room over the years."
Hugh glanced down at the menu, "I think when I'm staring out the window at the lake, smoking a cigarette is when I feel most as if I belong in Repose," he offered, letting her take that where she would. It was uncomfortable to realize that where you had thought you could make friends anywhere, you'd really just been comfortable within a particular group. But he listened as she spoke and he nodded. "I think it's an offshoot of that same idea, really. There's only one great love for each of us and we could never truly be happy with another." It was a romantic idea, it was Romeo & Juliet - although Hugh had always hated Romeo & Juliet - and Wuthering Heights, but he didn't think it was a true thing unless you made it true in your actions.
He lifted the jack and coke to his lips, taking a sip of it, the gesture maybe hiding the twinge of guilt that followed her announcement regarding Jamie. But he sat the glass down again, his fingers still curled around it, and his index finger moved to tap the edge lightly. Hannah and Jamie had struggled since Hugh knew anything about them, and he knew he hadn't helped - whatever his intentions - but this probably wasn't about him. "You can talk about it if you want," he said softly. He would listen, and he didn't mind. He didn't have answers, or he suspected he wouldn't, but he didn't mind if she needed to talk through it.