My clothes had changed.

These were not the warm set I’d put on earlier in the day.

I was sure I had not gone back and chosen a new outfit.

There I was in red striped pants and a gold jacket, looking like a million dollars, a showman and ostentatious celebrity all at once.

For someone thrilled by the idea of a faux polar expedition this was unsuitable.

And winter, judging by the level of the cheap thermometer tacked to the gate, was in determined presence.

Sometimes you have to go with the flow, improvise, laugh at the peculiarity of the situation.

That was the moment to smile.