Between Then & Now // Hugh Jackman

7 // An Answer to a Prayer

It was hard to put thought to paper. When I told Hugh what I did for a living, it was in the spur of the moment, but now that I was sitting at the small table in the art room at the Actors' Centre, I realized how ill-equiped I was in this decade.

I was accustomed to mainly working with digital software, like Photoshop, but they didn't have a computer here. I was stuck with older materials - graphic pencils and acrylics. Not that artists didn't still use them in present day, but digital art had become mainstream. It was easier to publish and print things. All I had with me was a sketchpad and pen.

Somewhat frustrated, I spent the next hour or so trying to create something that fit the director's vision, but nothing, not even the idea I had, seemed to feel right.

By the time Hugh came to check up on me, I had over a dozen of incomplete drawings scattered across the table.

"You should take a break," he suggested, staying by the open doorway.

I didn't think he would show up. I was expecting Mason, but if I was going to be coming with him and Alana to class often, then we couldn't exactly ignore each other, even if that was all I knew I should be doing.

I hardly glanced at him as I stared at the blank piece of paper in front of me. "I'm just trying to start it, but I'm blocked."

"Well, come back with a fresh mind tomorrow. We just finished rehearsing for today."

"Already?"

"It's been over 3 hours, Kinsley." He took a step in. I could tell he was fighting with himself to come further into the room, but he stopped before he did.

"Have you been in here this whole time?"

He tried to keep the concern out of his voice, but I still heard it. He was making this difficult. Was there some internal switch that I could flip off? Because his caring nature wasn't helping in the slightest.

"I didn't realize it had been that long."

The wristwatch wasn't with me, so I couldn't tell the time, and I was too engrossed in brainstorming that I hadn't even realized the minutes turned to hours.

After a moment, Hugh retracted his movements to the entrance. "We don't need it right away, and you can't stay here. Alana and I are heading out."

He wouldn't say it, but if they were going, then so was I.

I gathered together all the papers into a single pile and tucked it into the sketchpad. "Can I take this with me?"

"Yeah, of course." Leaning against the door frame, he waited for me as I picked everything up.

I didn't bring a bag with me so I stuffed a few of the pens in the pockets of the jeans and placed the sketchpad under an arm. standing up straight, I brushed my hair out of my face. "Okay, I'm ready."

Hugh smiled gently and led the way. "What is it that you're struggling with exactly?"

There was still some awkwardness in the air, but we weren't going to talk about what happened last night. I guess he was pretending it didn't. I wasn't going to bring it up again either. It was hard to say it the first time, but I knew we weren't going to forget it. At least, I wasn't. I had been a bit harsh.

That and what Mason had told me about Hugh were fresh in my mind, with the wristwatch lingering there. It was ever present, except now I was curious about Hugh in a way I wasn't before.

I couldn't lie. Who I knew him to be in the future clouded over who he was in the past. In 2024, he was a well-known actor. I didn't really get to know him as a person. Here, he wasn't just some handsome face I saw on a screen. He was right in front of me. Real and genuine, and he had many creative talents.