: I appeared in a local theatrical production that was well-received. One of our performances was attended by my closest friend, who brought along his lovely wife and two wonderful children. Related Articles After my performance, my friend waited for me with his family to congratulate me and invite me to join them at a nearby ice cream shop.
Always happy to spend time with them, I gratefully accepted. As we sat at our table enjoying our refreshments and I was hearing their thoughts on my performance, a man approached our table and immediately began speaking to me about the production. While I’m grateful that he is supporting the local arts and that he enjoyed our production, being approached by strangers while I’m dining out with friends is awkward for me.
Particularly since he seemed to have no interest in even acknowledging my friends. Should I have explained that I was dining with friends and excused myself, or introduced my dining companions to this gentleman (who addressed me by name, but never mentioned his)? As it is, he spoke for several seconds, although it seemed much longer, about how much he enjoyed our production and his favorite points in the show. I thanked him, and he left.
My friends at least were very understanding and seemed content to listen to our exchange in quiet amusement. After he left, I apologized for the interruption. My friends seemed to take this in stride, perhaps recognizing the awkwardness and my uncertainty as to how to deal with this sit.