The kindness of strangers: I was ready to leave the theatre in disgrace when a gentle usher made me an offer

I knew straight away that something was wrong. I had arranged to go to an opera with a friend. She’s normally a chatty person but, when I got to our seats, she wasn’t saying anything. I asked her a few questions but she was monosyllabic in response.

During the intermission we went out to the balcony. Again, I was trying to talk to her but she just wasn’t looking at me. I asked if she was OK – had I offended her in any way? That’s when she let go on a tirade. She didn’t like a comment I had made at a dinner party a few weeks earlier and told me she’d never invite me to her home again – or come to mine. I was so shocked because she was very angry and said some things that I thought were quite cruel. I had never been spoken to like that by anyone, let alone a friend. To make matters worse people were turning around to look at us, wondering what these two ladies were arguing about.

I was obviously about to start crying so I put my drink down and walked away. I went into the toilet and, of course, once I got in there, I was in a flood of tears. I was really hurt. I thought, I’ll just have to get myself together and go home in disgrace, which was a shame because we were halfway through the opera – and I was really loving it!

The venue staff must check the toilets at the end of the intermission to hurry people back to their seats, because an usher came in, heard me crying and asked through the cubicle door if I was OK. I said, look, I’ve just had a fight with a friend and I’m not going to go back in, but thank you very much. She left and I stayed there crying. A few minutes later she came back in and said she was worried about me. Then she made me an offer: she could take me to a seat in a different section of the theatre upstairs so that I wouldn’t have to go back to sitting with my friend. I said OK, yes, that would be really lovely.

When I came out, I was still sniffling. This woman was so gentle and kind; she said, the opera has a very sad ending and I’m taking you to a very private section of the theatre so you can cry your heart out there!

When someone gets stuck into you like that friend of mine did you feel a bit worthless. So to be cared for by this usher is something I’ll always remember. She could have been efficient in moving me along but she chose kindness.

I’ve been back to the venue since and have looked out for that usher so that I can thank her. I hope to one day see her again so I can tell her I’ll always think of her fondly. It wasn’t the fact that she got me a seat in the theatre. It wasn’t the fact that I did get to see the second half of the opera. It was just the fact that she knew I was upset and cared enough to help.