Kamala Harris: Behind the Scenes with the Vice President on Air Force Two and at the VP Residence (Exclusive)

Kamala Harris moves fast — even in heels — her staff moves faster, and Air Force Two, well, it takes off without warning and lands the same way. No safety speeches from the flight attendants, no announcements from the pilot, just buckle up and go.

"Buckle up and go" may as well be the mantra for anyone entering the vice president's immediate orbit. The half-eaten packet of Tums in the Air Force Two bathroom reflects the high-stress reality of White House life: Meals are grabbed on the fly — unlike typical domestic flights, a hot dinner such as chicken and mashed potatoes (with real silverware!) is standard — conversations are hurried, and schedules are constantly in flux. (Harris' predominantly female and diverse staff hardly even sit during the flight, instead clustering to chat and briefly decompress.)

Seated in the front of the plane, of course, is the boss: Although she is just 5'4", in person she never seems small. The heels help, of course, along with the shoulders-back, chin-up posture. But mostly it's the self-possessed, courtroom-honed composure. A "lawyer's lawyer," as one staffer describes her, the former district attorney has a direct gaze that can feel both warm and intimidating.

Then there is "Momala" — as she is known to Ella and Cole, her adult stepkids with husband and second gentleman Doug Emhoff — the nurturer who loves to rhapsodize about her herb garden and lights up when she talks about her family. (Smiling as she recalls waking up to a house full of loved ones during Cole's recent wedding weekend, she says, "that's my perfect peaceful moment.")

That Momala side is also on display during our PEOPLE interview in her official residence, when she notes that the designated spot for this writer — across from the oversized bay windows in the living room where Harris is seated — is "too far."

"Come sit over here," she says, gesturing to the spot next to her. "Grab your water. [Be] comfortable."

For Harris, "comfort" usually comes behind other considerations. All of her groundbreaking "firsts" — the first woman, the first Black person and the first person of South Asian descent to be elected to the vice presidency — mean that she and her team are tasked with adjusting a playbook the 48 previous vice presidents, all White men, have left largely untouched.

At a PEOPLE photo shoot, one staffer questions whether a proposed pose (hand resting lightly on a fireplace mantel) is more suggestive of a first lady rather than the vice president. It's not the kind of question that, say, Harris' predecessor, Mike Pence, would need to entertain. Like millions of women, the tension between projecting both power and warmth, authority and approachability, strength and humility is one that runs like a live wire throughout Harris' world.

But if she is radically different from the men who have held the office before her, the role itself is not. The "heartbeat away" from the president is tasked with championing the administration's accomplishments while taking care to never overshadow the president. When the boss calls, the VP answers.

So it was on Oct. 20, the vice president's 59th birthday, when a last-minute Oval Office meeting called by President Joe Biden meant that Harris' agenda for the day was pushed back by nearly five hours.

Entering through the back door of the Vice President's Residence at the rescheduled interview time later that day, the PEOPLE team was greeted by Harris' bustling staff and a bouquet of mylar balloons, the only sign of the boss' birthday.

The home itself, which was built in 1893 on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory, feels like a high-end B&B. It's easy to imagine a basket of warm muffins on the table in the "turret room," the first-floor de facto living room where the vice president welcomes everyone from world leaders to local school kids.

She has put her stamp on the "other" People's House (the first, of course, is the White House) in numerous ways — perhaps most clearly in the library, replacing the longtime dark forest green hue with a vivid fuchsia. ("In some ways, I guess we've been challenging notions about what power looks like," she says.)

In a historic first, a mezuzah — a Jewish symbol containing a written blessing — sits on the front doorpost, a reflection of Emhoff's faith.

The walls now feature a range of artwork, many of which were painted by young artists, "so we're not only having art from the 1800s, but contemporary art," she says. "I had Prime Minister Kishida here from Japan, and after we finished our meeting about big, global, huge things, he was just walking around the house admiring the art saying, 'This is American art?'"

There is a choreography, of course, to Harris' world, with both the vice president herself and everyone around her, each keenly aware of how quickly missteps become memes; how, in our hyperpolarized political climate, Americans are more entrenched in their existing views than ever; and how racism and sexism stalk her every move like twin ghouls.

If there is a sense of fear among those around her that the next faux pas or negative headline or unwelcome spin lurks just around the corner, Harris herself betrays no such worry. Pressed repeatedly on how she handles the intense negativity, she insists that it doesn't bother her.

But... how?

She seems to genuinely believe in herself. Which somehow feels like her most radical achievement of all. When told that she seems to have tamed all the external voices of doubt, she says, "Well, no. I am not deaf to it. But I will tell you what drives me: knowing that I make a difference and that I can make a difference. I travel all over the country ... and I meet people and they'll say, 'Thank you...'"

And what about women who don't hear, "Thank you?" Those who feel overlooked and undervalued?

"For me, and I think for so many of us, this is where your faith has to kick in," she says. "You have to have the ability to believe in things you can't always see."

It's a common description of faith. But coming from a woman who became something the world had never seen, it lands differently, and lingers.

For more on how Kamala Harris is navigating unprecedented territory, subscribe now to PEOPLE or pick up this week's issue, on newsstands Friday.