The story is set largely in the late 1960s. Two young lovers wrestle with the age-old problems of romance and postage. That reminds me, I should reread The Crying of Lot 49.
How can a man be proud of a wife that is like the happy hooker except she doesn't charge? She simply enjoys sex in lots of places, lots of times, and with lots of guys.
A good looking woman loses her hubby due to electrical accident, her son fancies the way she dresses for work as the town's librarian. Her glasses being the traditional librarian style turn him on and he starts seeing her through them, not as Mom but a woman with needs and wants. By summers end mom knows she dressed as she did for a reason.