Here’s a rather graphic description of Dart’s most recent days in his recovery from the surgery. The details he shares attest to a different level of intimacy he feels toward Dot than just the average romantic kind.

He also talks about his former social life – lots of first dates and plenty of hanging out with the boys. He reveals himself to be quite a straight arrow (a result of being named “Dart?”) when it comes to drinking, smoking and “raising h—.” That fits the Dart I knew in later years, but there was nothing straight arrow about his sense of humor. He loved limericks – the bawdier, the better.

He signs off after six pages because of a tall stack of “fan mail” awaiting his attention. His P. S. is a line of shorthand symbols for “I love you” which he claims to practice on everything-except letters to other people.

Dot’s hurried letter begins on Friday, and finishes on Sunday morning. In between, she was working her feet off as a sales clerk in a retail store as temporary Christmas help.

After a crack Dart had made about how nice it must be to have a “charge account” at the Andrew store, she sets the record straight. She charges things she needs and then pays them off herself as she earns money. She’s not one of the girls who makes Mommy and Daddy cover her bills.

She refuses Dart’s plea to translate the long initial code from a few letters back. Again, she promises to tell him what they mean in six year, saying “Jeepers – I hope I still know you in six years!” No worries there, Dottie!