Leg One - Getting to Manchester

By the time we got to the TSA agent at security whose job it is to check passports, Polar and I were a bit out of breath. He looked at us and paused.  

"You two okay?" he asked, going back to scribbling on our tickets and leafing through our passports. 

Moments before, Polar Vortex (later PV) had been standing at the check in counter, waiting for me. I was in a car, in traffic, texting PV. Assuring her I was almost out of the airport tunnel. Any minute. So close. Be right there. Our flight to Manchester wasn't for an hour yet. Surely there was no need to panic.

"I'm not worried," she messaged. 

"Me neither."

Aurelio dropped me at Arrivals and told me about a shortcut where you can just go up a level and be right at the ticketing counters. When I got inside, I saw elevators and not stairs. I patiently waited with a nice gentleman who had the same goal I had. We talked about the heat. We laughed politely. We got off at the wrong floor. My phone buzzed.

"Closing the gate in 2 minutes."

The stranger calmly pushed the elevator button again, unconcerned. I looked around desperately for stairs, I yelled goodbye to the stranger, and flew up one more level. I saw PV standing at a distant counter and ran for her.

"I'm sorry but the flight is closed," the ticketing agent said, repeatedly shoving my passport into a slot. "Once it's closed it's closed."

"What do you mean it's closed?"

"You're in trouble," she said quietly. 

After a few more moments of passport shoving and impotent key pressing, a gentleman walked up, typed something, and said, "I opened the flight back up again. Try again, it should work now."

Checked in, bags dropped, we ran through terminal E and arrived at the security checkpoint. 

"You two okay?"

Why the TSA guy was worried we weren't okay, we weren't sure. Don't people run at airports all the time? Vaguely panicked running at an airport seems a common activity. 

Laughing, sweating, we explained that we were told the gate was closing and we nearly missed our flight. The agent checked his watch.

"No, you're fine. What are they talking about? You have an hour. I mean, unless they decided your plane is going to leave early, but when does that happen?" He was smirking now. "Oh hey you're plane is leaving early today," he continued laughing, "just because." 

He waved us thorough. And I swear to god he blew PV a kiss on our way past.