loyal keys

In 2005 I got a Tiffany sterling key ring. The only reason I know the date is that it's engraved on the back. And while I have many key rings, this has always been my favorite. I like its small size and smooth feel. And for many years I've been able to hold on to it.

But then, during the summer of 2014,  I lost my keys, only to have them magically returned to me a few months later. 

I guarded them more closely this time, and managed to not lose them for another three years.  But on August 2, Susan and I went to see Summer Shorts Series B at 59E59. When I got home, I realized my keys were missing. The next morning, I called the theater, gave them my seat number, spoke to multiple people, and while everyone was helpful, no one could find my keys.

I searched my house everywhere, though I was fairly certain they had been lost at the theater. Still, I went through every pocket of every coat. Looked though all the crevices of every purse. Searched in drawers and closets. Looked under beds and sofas. It was no where.

Tonight, I meet Zelia and Ofelia (this friend likes to be anonymous) to see Prince of Broadway (despite what the critics say, I find it totally enjoyable, but long at two and a half hours). It's raining so I wear my raincoat.

I settle into my seat and the man behind me taps me on the shoulder. "Did you lose these?" he asks.  "I found them on the floor under your seat."

He is holding my lost keys.

Now I've been a member of Manhattan Theater Club for over twenty years. And I have always had the same seat. Could my keys have been sitting under seat B102 for months and months without the maintenance people noticing? Unlikely.

Or maybe they were nestled into the edge of my chair and somehow became dislodged when I sat down? Also unlikely. 

So that means that they must have been in either my purse or raincoat. But wouldn't I have heard them fall? And wouldn't I have seen them when I did my police-worthy search?

Divine intervention is the only plausible explanation I can come up with. Either that, or I need new glasses.