"I'm glad for you, Mother. Is sex always good?"

"No, dear, it isn't always. It is with Adam and me, though, and I have a hunch it'll only get better."

"It wasn't good with Daddy, was it?"

"In the beginning it was. Then it died out. I'm not saying it was his fault or that he was a bad man. Things just died between us."

"I think you're being very generous to him. I'm still just a kid and I was younger then, but I know he spent every evening drinking beer and watching TV. He was usually drunk when he went to bed, wasn't he?"

"You're more than just a kid, dear. Actually, you're very observant. Yes, it's true that your father lost interest in sex. I was hungry for a long time, and since Adam came along, it's like being born again in a beautiful new world."

"Sex must be so exciting," Sharon observed with a little sigh, "and I've got so long to wait."

"I know, dear. I can understand how you feel. I was thirteen once, you know. When I had that longing to grow up and try sex, I'd go to my room, take my panties off and masturbate. I take it you do that when you're in the mood?"

"Gee, Mother you're really frank. I keep wondering about it. I hear other girls talking about it, and they make it sound nice, but I'm afraid."

"Afraid? Why?"

"Because, well, I heard that if you do it too much, you can break your cherry and that too much of it makes your pussy too big and men don't like that."

"Oh, you poor lamb, that's all garbage. It's like telling boys that if they jack off, they'll grow hair on the palms of their hands. Those are just things that are said to scare children. I suspect most of them began with churches or religious parents who think that to have fun is a sin."

"You mean there's nothing wrong with masturbating? It isn't abnormal or anything?" Sharon asked, surprised.

"It's as normal and as natural as breathing, dear. Far from being a bad thing, it's a good one. People who don't masturbate suppress natural feelings, and suppressed feelings can lead to trouble. It's natural for people, children as well as adults, to get horny from time to time. I pity anyone who doesn't. When that happens, there comes a certain tension. Masturbation is nature's safety valve."