Stanley is striding up round the bend and up the rise. His armpits are sweaty and his t-shirt is stuck to his back. He hasn't had his shower. He probably has building dust in his hair. He always has a shower as soon as he gets in from work. Stanley hates to be sweaty. But this has to be sorted and sorted now. Nobody speaks to Stanley's wife like that and gets away with it! Inside, Stanley is jelly. Stanley is probably more frightened than Bobby. Stanley hates confrontation and really wishes he could just curl up in his basket with Bobby but this calls for action. Honour and machismo are at stake. "Bloody Nazi! I'll put a spoke in his wheel. I'll show him! Coming over here acting like he owns the village. With his BMW and his pool. No one speaks to us like that We've got rights, we have!"
Sitting by the side of the road looking down on Kavros where the sun always seems to shine Stanley is finally thoughtful. The sun has dipped behind the mountain and Kournas is grey now. Stanley doesn''t know what to do now. All his bluster, all his resolve, gone in a moment. That moment when the young girl told him that her father had had a heart attack this morning and was in Xania hospital at this moment fighting for his life. Told him in perfect English too. Crestfallen would be a good word for how Stanley feels. And oddly relieved.
Stanley pulls himself back together and trudges home in the cooling shade. "Well that'll learn him anyway. Bloody Nazi! No one talks to my wife like that! And gets away with it."