Alina’s grandmother has a fall in her home, breaking the humerus bone in her left arm, which required hospitalization and then a lengthy stay at a rehabilitation facility.

“Thank you so much for your attention to my grandma,” Alina said to Doctor Stellansson. “You were a great comfort to her and to me.”

“No problem,” Stellansson said. “Your grandmother is quite a woman.”

“I know,” Alina said. “She was pretty out of it at times. Like hallucinating or something.”

“Probably the meds,” the doctor said.

“Maybe, but other times she seemed lucid, and yet...”

“Yes?” Stellansson encouraged.

“When I told her I was moving her out of her house to an assisted living place, she didn’t get angry. She just said to make sure her grandfather clock got moved in okay. She said she had a clock fetish.”

“A clock fetish?” questioned the doctor.

“Uh huh. What exactly is a fetish, anyway?”

Doctor Stellansson explained that a fetish had to do with only being able to have sex successfully if the fetish object was involved.

“But a clock?” Alina said. “And besides, my grandfather died fifteen years ago. I was just ten. I don’t think my grandma has been having sex since then.”

“Maybe she was just remembering those good old days,” the doctor said. “Or maybe she meant cock fetish.”

“No, she distinctly said clock,” Alina confirmed. “And would it even make sense to have a cock fetish? Isn’t a cock always involved in sex?”

Doctor Stellansson shrugged. “I suppose you’re right. And a fetish really could be anything. Even a clock.”

Alina nodded. “Thanks for explaining that. I wonder if you could do me a huge favor.”

“Sure, anything,” he said.

“I’ve got all the arrangements made for the assisted living apartment. The movers are delivering what little furniture will fit next week. But I wanted to make sure that the grandfather clock was moved safely, and it’s too big for me to handle alone. Do you think... ?”

“No problem,” said the doctor. “How about tomorrow evening?”

“That would be great,” Alina said.

The next evening Doctor Stellansson and Alina went to Alina’s grandmother’s house, loaded the grandfather clock into a medi-van Stellansson had borrowed, and brought the clock to the assisted living apartment. Alina found a spot for it in the living room, pulled down the weights, set the time, and gave the pendulum a nudge to start the mechanisms.

“Nice,” said the doctor. “Sounds really loud with it being the only thing in the apartment.”

“Yeah, kind of a nice sound,” Alina said. “Do you think my grandma could have really had a clock fetish?”

“I’m sure it’s possible,” Stellansson said.

“Do you think it could be inherited?”

“I’m not sure about that,” said the doctor. “I guess it’s possible. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious,” Alina said. “Also, the clock sound, the ticking, I’m finding it kind of arousing. Do you think maybe we could, you know? Like test it?”

It took a moment for the doctor to understand what she was suggesting. “Maybe we could,” he speculated. “In the interests of science. How do you think the experiment should work?”

“Well, first of all we take off all our clothes,” Alina said. “And then, basically, you fuck me.”

Stellansson smiled. “That’s pretty basic, all right.”

“But to make sure nothing else interferes, I shouldn’t be looking at you. Or the clock. And maybe you need to be still. You know?”

“So basically, you’re fucking me?” Stellansson said.

“Right. Basically,” Alina said.

Alina had the doctor lie on the floor on his back. She mounted him, facing away, the clock out of her vision. Her hips lifted and sank in a steady rhythm timed to the ticking of the grandfather clock. It was a quarter to nine when they’d started. By ten to nine Stellansson was gritting his teeth trying to avoid orgasm.

When the clock chimed nine o’clock, Alina came. Stellansson came too. Alina didn’t stop fucking Stellansson, who remained erect inside her sex. By ten o’clock Alina had come six more times. Stellansson and Alina both came at 10:12, at which time Alina stopped. The clock kept ticking.

“That was sensational,” Alina said, after her breathing returned to normal.

“It was,” Stellansson agreed. “Do you think you have a clock fetish?”

“I don’t know,” Alina admitted, “But one thing for sure, as soon as I save up enough money, I’m getting a grandfather clock just like this one.”