Dart was very chipper in this letter – undoubtedly because he had two letters and a card from Dot.

His real news is that whoever sewed him up after his surgery made a total botch of the job and he now must have at least one more operation to try to fix the damage. Yuck! I guess there’s no such thing as a malpractice suit against a military surgeon.

He drew a thermometer in the margin of his letter to illustrate how hot and bothered he is by that long string of initials that Dot will not decode for six years.  Said Dart, “I hope you don’t think I need that much incentive to keep track of you for six years. I hope we’ll know each other very well by then.”

He was so happy to hear that Dot had called his parents. He was sure they must have liked her, although their letter from that day was postmarked before she called them, so there was no mention of her call.

He was over the moon with pride and excitement when he heard a recording of his high school choir’s over a Chicago radio station. (His was one of the voices being aired.) He says they sounded very good over the radio. I confess to being a little surprised that he was part of a quality chorus. The singing voice I recall emanating from Dad was quite good…at the one note he could carry!

He urged Dot to have a great time at her dance on the 18th and reiterated that he would be thinking of her. Indeed, he tells her every move he makes is done for her. What a sweet thing to say!

Dot is pleased that Dart likes reading her letters. She says it gives her the incentive she needs to keep writing. She mentions a card she sent him that could never say what she really feels. “As a matter of fact, I can’t even say what I feel. I’ll have to get used to the idea and then maybe I can tell you.

She chats about her pending trip home, the most recent snapshot she received from Dart (which, of course doesn’t do him justice) and her portrait proofs she expects to receive soon (which, of course will be too horrible to look at).

Referring to Dart’s theory that he grew an inch or more while in bed, Dot says she’ll be hibernating soon, because she’s only 5′ 6.5″ and would like to be taller.

She vows no more shorthand. From now on, anything she has to say she’ll say in plain English (once she gets used to the idea.) Here, she also makes a reference to the final paragraph of his latest letter – the one where he says straight out for the very first time that her loves her. “The last crowded paragraph was the best I’ve ever read. Boy! That’s just what a girl needs to pep her up.”

She is very happy that his parents are planning to go to Chicago and is confident they will find a room because their mission is so important that the city will find space for them.

She ends with a silly little joke about a gremlin in the “icebox.” Now, that’s a word you don’t hear every day anymore.