A brief pause

I took a taxi earlier through to Rondies, things to do, people to see etc. I was sitting there reading my news app, when the taxi slowed down to pick up a passenger outside Thandokhulu High. At least that's what we thought. There was a lone woman standing there, with a plastic bag wrapped around her one hand, and a handbag clasped in the other. The driver timed his stop perfectly and the gaaitjie opened the door right in front of her. The few of us in the van looked to the door, the woman looked back. "Auntie?" the gaaitjie said.
No response. She stood there deadpan. No yes, no no, just standing there. So we hovered, all of us suspended in our glances door-wards, waiting. Waiting for her to get on, waiting for her to shake her head. We waited. Again, and somewhat more insistently, "Auntie?"
Still nothing.
I started to giggle. There was the gaaitjie, with his gold-rimmed sunglasses, his honey coloured skinny jeans and his small canvas bank bag filled with coins hanging from his wrist; swinging calmly. And then there was this stoney faced woman, either so disengaged from the world she couldn't reply, or so deploring of taxi etiquette that she wouldn't. The woman sitting in front of me picked up my giggle. So did the gaaitjie, so did the driver. As he drove off again we were in hysterics.
"She's a statue that one," squealed the gaatjie, "a statue!"
"Ya," I agreed, "a statue."