She turned back to the kitchen where she had been juicing oranges. There was something wrong, she felt, but if Shari didn't come to her about it, she could not help her. She had never interfered with her children, always waiting for them to approach her. It was possible her daughter had torn her dress by falling, but somehow Shari did not act as if that was what had happened. For one thing, Joyce had seen that unusual glow in her daughter's eyes.

She finished with the oranges and washed her hands. Then she went to her daughter's room and, with Shari still in the tub, she examined the torn dress. There was a long rip from the hem all the way to the waist, and the front of it had been torn all the way down, too. Carrying the dress, she went to the bathroom and entered without knocking.

Shari, sitting in a tub full of bubbles, looked up at her mother. Joyce saw that the glow was still in Shari's dark eyes. She sat on the toilet with the dress in her hands. She gazed at her daughter until Shari dropped her eyes, and her sudden flush was not missed by Joyce.

"Okay, honey," Joyce said in a quiet voice. "Tell me how this happened. And I don't want any made-up story, you hear me?"

"Mom, I told you. I fell," Shari insisted.

"And I said I didn't want stories," Joyce said firmly. "Look at me, young lady!"

Shari lifted her eyes shyly. Joyce saw that warm glow in them, saw the excitement that her daughter still felt. She knew immediately what had happened. She had felt the same feeling too many times herself.

"Stand up, Shari," she demanded, dropping the torn dress to the floor. "Stand up and let me look at you."

Shari slowly stood in the tub, bubbles clinging to her naked body. She felt no embarrassment about being naked before her mother. There was no shame concerning seeing each other without clothing on. They didn't allow Bobby to see them, of course, but they had seen each other many times.