Losing the Car

   C and I were in a hurry to get to the airport. It had been a long time since we had flown anywhere and we were concerned about getting through security. We drove into the long term parking ramp at the airport and found a place to park. We unloaded our bags and carried them toward the terminal. Both of us were certain that we would be able to find the car in a week when we returned.
  We went through security and learned that we should have taken the laptop out of the backpack we carry it in. Since we didn't do that, the security officer had to take us aside for a more thorough search of the bag and its contents. I made a mental note. Next time remove the laptop from the bag and remember to turn it off.
  You know the rest of the story. We flew to South Carolina and had a wonderful time. We spent time with some friends, saw a lot of cool things and simply enjoyed our trip.
  The week was over and it was time to fly home. We were both tired and ready to sleep in our own bed and eat non restaurant food.
  Our flight was 40 minutes late taking off. This wasn't bad. We would have plenty of time to make our connecting flight in Chicago. I took out a book to read. C bought a newspaper and went to find someplace where he could charge his phone. Finally the time came to board. We got on the plane and headed to Chicago.
  When we got to Chicago we were both hungry and crabby. We only had one hour to eat before boarding the plane back to St. Paul. There weren't too many places to eat near our gate. We did find one that we both agreed on. There was already a long line of people waiting to order. I was getting restless. I didn't want to miss our plane. I wanted to go home. I missed my cats and I wanted a good nights sleep in my own bed.  Fortunately the line moved at a good pace and we ordered our food. I ordered some nachos. C had a hot dog and fries. We ate as quickly as we could.
  After we finished eating we went to the gate. We spent some time moving things around in our carry on. Soon it was time to board the plane. I couldn't wait. Only an hour and a half separated me from my home.
   We landed at the airport and went to pick up our bags. C got a cart so we would not have to carry them. We left the terminal and went to the long term parking lot. We went to the place where we had parked the car.
   It wasn't there.
   Maybe we had the wrong level. We went up to the next level.
   It wasn't there either.
   I was in a panic. C searched various levels looking for our car. I wanted to look too, but we could not leave our luggage unattended. It was approaching midnight and we were no closer to finding our car. I was exhausted and more upset than I had ever been in my life. C was frustrated and very angry. Why didn't we write down the location of the car?
   I suggested that we either call Denise or get a cab and go home. The car was fine wherever it was. We could come back in the morning and search the lot. We would be better rested and less stressed.
   Thankfully Denise was awake. She was watching a movie. She helped us load the car and drove us home. On the way home I had another horrible thought. We had locked the door. I hadn't brought my house key with as we use the garage door opener to get into the house. There was a chance that we may not be able to get into our house. I panicked again. The cats were inside and would need to be fed in the morning. How long would it take us to find the car? Would Denise need to drive us back to the airport?
  These thoughts swirled in my head as we headed to the house. Once we got there C got out of the car and went to the garage door. He put in the code to open the door and was able to get into the house. Whew! One worry out of my way.
   We brought our bags inside and piled them in the living room. Then we went straight to bed. It was after one in the morning and we were both very tired.
  The next morning we headed back to the airport. Our plan was to comb each level. The car had to be there. In order to take the car out of the lot you had to use the same credit card that you used to get into the lot. It had to be there.
  We started combing each level. After combing five levels we though we were in the wrong ramp. We checked the entrance of the ramp into the terminal. We had the right ramp. We searched every level,some of them twice. No luck. I checked other areas in the ramp. No car.
  We were both frustrated. I was getting tired and hungry (we hadn't eaten breakfast yet) Where could the stupid car be? Why couldn't we find it?
   We decided that we were going to go to the terminal information desk. I wasn't sure what they could do, but we had no other option. We got into the elevator when C saw another level. It was M level. We hadn't searched it because we both thought we'd gone up farther. We decided to look. What could it hurt?
   We went to the M level. C stepped out of the elevator and walked to the area where he thought he had parked. In two minutes he called me over. He had found the car. We nearly cried in relief. The car was found.
  He climbed inside and started it up. We went to find my car. (We did write down where it was.) Then we headed toward the exit of the ramp. After we paid the attendant, we went home and dropped my car off. We drove to Perkins for a celebratory breakfast. The car had been found. All was now well in the world.
    Next time we will either write down our location or get a ride to the airport.