Frederic felt as if there was a tightness, a constriction, in his chest that wouldn't go away. It didn't hurt, per se, simply ached, but in a good way, in a way he hadn't felt in many a year. "Well, this is called the case, what holds every moving piece within the clock. Most grandfather clocks these days are shaped in a sort-of pear way, so the builder has to be careful where he places each cog..." As he went on, opening, poking, and turning things for Karen to see, Frederic felt an urge growing deep within his heart and forced it down, over and over, but each time he looked at Karen, it rose up again. He knew it was a risk, improper, wild- still...