With a bitter little chuckle, Victoria let herself think what a ridiculous turnabout had occurred in just one generation. When her mother had been her age it was assumed that all girls but a lost few were virgins when they married. But how different now! It was practically a badge of shame to still be a virgin at eighteen, almost like admitting to some kind of mental or physical defect. And the worst part was that something deep inside Victoria wanted so badly to be made love to, but couldn't find the right conditions to just let it happen. If society was going to change in this direction, the unhappy young girl thought bitterly, it had better develop some institutions to help out people like her who were only willing to take half-way steps. Perhaps there could be a ritual deflowering of young maidens followed by a State School of Fornication Arts. Anything would be better than being made to feel guilty about being a virgin and then punished by the scornful talk of the bragging young bucks who seduced you. The whole system now was so… haphazard, the grim-faced young girl thought to herself. Someday, for better or worse, it would happen to her and she hoped it would leave her with better feelings than some of the disillusioned girls she met. That was one of the truly outstanding things about Penny, Victoria mused. She was so absolutely, unreservedly, unguiltily involved in sex, with the same lack of self-consciousness of a puppy chasing a ball.

Since she had been walking with her gaze absentmindedly fixed on the ground in front of her, Victoria hadn't realized she was approaching Ben Wright and his dog Prince, who were standing together on the top of a small hill.