Keeping time

My grandfather's watch had remained in its box for eleven years. When I handed it across the repairer's bench, my fingers stayed around the case for a moment longer than they needed to. I wanted to hear it working again, yet the thought of bright new parts hidden inside made the watch seem less his.

The repairer placed every piece she removed in a separate compartment and consulted me before making each replacement. Nothing was discarded. As she worked, she showed me how the new mechanism could be removed without damaging the original case. When the watch began to tick, the sound was quieter than I remembered, but steady.

I asked her to leave the scratches on the case untouched. Then, instead of putting the watch back in its box, I fastened it around my wrist for the journey home.

In your own words, explain how the writer's thoughts and feelings develop during the repair and how the final two decisions reflect this development.