Wren was a compulsive checker of clocks. (compulsive: compulsion-driven, driven, uncontrollable) His predecessor's obsessive attention to the minute had become the village norm, although nobody could remember the justification for ringing at seven rather than eight. (predecessor: forerunner, previous holder, antecedent; obsessive: obsessional, fixated, consuming; norm: standard, convention, rule; justification: rationale, reason, grounds) Visitors with questions generally regretted raising the subject.
The hardware dealer could fulminate for an hour about lateness. (fulminate: rail, rant, thunder) A fervent shopper could recite his litany of delayed appointments from memory. (litany: recital, catalog, recitation) An old teacher with some perspicacity noticed that the dealer's own clock gained five minutes a week. (perspicacity: insight, discernment, astuteness) His strictures seemed particularly ironic in that light. (ironic: ironical, incongruous)
She asked Wren to set every clock to the same time for a month. His regular visits gave him an excuse to see people he missed. His old habit proved unexpectedly therapeutic once somebody else had a reason to welcome it. (therapeutic: restorative, healing, remedial)