Those Who Wait (Formula 1 - Daniel Ricciardo)

19... Surprise

Monday morning we were back in Monaco, spending our few hours in the principality re-packing our bags before heading back to the airport.

With the mid-season break now in effect and the factories shut down for the next couple of weeks, it was the perfect time to take a break somewhere in the sun. Except Dan was refusing to tell me where exactly we were jetting off to, and I could all but guess what the destination may be.

"Barcelona?" I guessed, staring up at the departure board once more and squinting at the destinations.

"Nope," Dan smirked from his seat beside me as I turned to face him, cocking my head in thought.

"Paris?" This was about the 5th time I'd tried to guess with the French capital. But he'd replied with a shake of the head each time, just as he had with every other destination I'd tried to guess. Dubai, Vienna, Amsterdam, London... none of them had apparently been correct.

*Flight number UAE78, Emirates Airline to Dubai International please make your way to gate number 22*

My eyes widened as Dan began to gather his things, standing up from his seat and holding out a hand for me.

"You said we weren't going to Dubai!"

"I did indeed," he replied coolly. "Are you coming or shall I go on my own?"

Jumping up, I grabbed my own bag before taking his hand in mine. "No, I'm coming."

Once aboard the plane I'd let everything run through my head a few times, quickly beginning to piece together the true destination of our travels. Now I knew why he'd been so secretive, some girls ran for the hills when the prospect of meeting the parents came up. But here I was seated on the first of two flights on my way to Australia.

**

Its safe to say that after a 3 hour layover in Dubai and an even longer flight from there to Perth, I was shattered, even with all the sleep on the plane.

As we stepped out into the cool morning air of Western Australia, I breathed in the fresh air for the first time in over 24 hours. That was definitely one of the things I hated about long-haul flights... nothing could beat fresh air, least of all air conditioning.

Dan was walking slightly ahead with his phone in one hand, duffel balanced ontop of a wheelie bag pulled by the other. He suddenly stopped beside a black range rover, dropping his bags and bounding up to the driver as she climbed out of the front seat.

"Danny boy!" she beamed just as big as him, pulling the much taller male figure into her arms. There was no mistaking whom this probably was... the elusive sister he'd often spoken to me about but I'd never had a chance to speak to. Dan believed in meeting people face to face, and so that was how I was meeting his family.

He pulled away from his sister, stepping back slightly so that I was now within her view.

"So you must be Noni," she smiled, stepping closer with her arms held wide.

"Yeah, hi," I smiled back nervously, accepting the hug. She was slightly taller than myself, with shoulder length curly hair pulled into a half-up half-down style.

"I'm Jess. The fabulous sister of this drongo," she grinned, sticking her tongue out at Dan, who was now loading our luggage into the car. I had no idea what a 'drongo' was, but I guessed it was probably something slightly derogatory and laughed along with her.

I then found myself chuckling once more as she explicitly told Dan that he was sitting in the 'rear' as she wanted to chat to his new 'bird' as she drove, and she'd had "23 years to chat to you."