No chat.

This wasn’t a family party returning from a trip to Disney, eager to share their good time as they piled into the minibus, she reminded herself.

All that was required was a quiet, Good afternoon, sir…

It wasn’t easy. There were two things she was good at: driving and talking. They both came as naturally to her as breathing: one-just about-paid the bills, the other she did for free. Sort of like a hobby. A fact that had featured prominently in her end of year school reports.

Talking in class. Talking in Assembly. Talking herself into trouble.

Since she mostly got the kids and the hen parties-jobs where a bit of lip came in handy if things got rowdy-it wasn’t usually a problem, but she understood why Sadie would only give her a job like this if she were really desperate.

Why she’d reserved judgement on anything more than a fill-in role.

Well she would show Sadie. She would show them all, she promised herself-her parents, that older generation of neighbours who gave her that no-better-than-she-should-be look-and she began tidily enough.

Her smile was regulation polite as she opened the door smartly so that nothing would impede his progress.

‘Good afternoon-’

She didn’t get as far as the ‘sir’.

A small boy, skidding through the terminal doors in her passenger’s wake, dived through the closing gap between the car door and Sheikh Zahir, to hurl himself at the woman who’d just pulled up behind them. Before Diana could utter a warning or move, he went flying over her highly polished shoes and cannoned headlong into Sheikh Zahir, sending the fancy package flying.

The Sheikh’s reactions were lightning-fast and he caught the child by the back of his jacket before he hit the ground.

Diana, no slouch herself, leapt for the ribbons.

The package was arcing away from her, but those ribbons had their uses and she managed to grab one, bringing it to a halt.