What a beautiful letter from Dart. He starts by describing the trip he, Hal Martin and Ira Cotton made from Norfolk, Virginia to Weston, Massachusetts. “What a beautiful and friendly country we live in! The ferry trip from Norfolk to Cape Charles was made in bright moonlight on a calm stretch of water. I hope you have a tiny idea of how homesick it made me. Oh, Darling, I wish you were with me. We drove all night. Cotton drove from Cape Charles to the ferry across the Delaware River, 35 miles below Philadelphia. I drove from there through New Jersey and New York City. As we crossed the Henry Hudson Bridge, the sun was just getting up from its bed of fog. I let Hal take over as we stopped for the toll house at Greenwich. Since we were on our way to here, we didn’t stop to call on your parents. but I wish we could have.”
“Connecticut and Massachusetts are really beautiful this weekend. Today was bright and clear. The trees range in color from the yellow shade which would make a well-bred canary go mute with envy, all the way to the red as deep as the maroon on Hershey’s chocolate wrapper. Evergreens stand out among the reds, yellows and browns.”
He tells her that if tomorrow is as nice, they plan to drive up to Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire. Although he’d like to see the place for the first time with Dot, he welcomes the chance to lay his eyes on their future honeymoon spot.
“Dot, I miss you so much I can hardly eat, sleep, or do anything. To leave you is to leave part of my life behind. I wish I were able to enjoy the full portion of my life all at once. But part of it’s there with you in Kent. That’s the fire and the spirit. The dispirited body exisits where I am, only in the hope of being with you again, and forever, as soon as possible.”
Dot begins her second letter of the day to Dart. The first one was just “one of those moody letters I write periodically which would have done neither of us any good. However, it’s 11:30 PM and I’m feeling much better.” (Her “moods” are both rare and short-lived. She was a good role model for so many people then, and continues to be so today.)
She and Ellie are the only girls in the house this weekend which will give her a good chance to work through her stacks of washing, ironing and sewing. Phew! As if she doesn’t have enough school work to occupy her time!
This evening she tried to call Dart’s parents, but there was no answer so she’ll try later in the weekend. She loves to talk with them about the person they all love so much – Dart.
She was happy to read in his long letter that arrived today that he loved “The Enchanted Castle” as much as she did. It’s just one more thing they have in common. As proof that they have a lot in common, she refers to the way they kissed each other in that “special way” without either of them having said anything about it beforehand. Further proof is that they get along, enjoy the same music and have similar humor and they share the same standards and ideals. That sounds like a pretty good list so far, and they’re only getting started.
When he says he thinks of her more than is healthy, she can relate because she does the same thing. She’s eager to know when their thinking of today will become their reality of the future. Sometimes she feels as though waiting another month would be impossible, yet the months keep passing by. Can he believe it’s been a whole month since they were enjoying that full moon in the park together?
It sounds as though he and his buddies are getting enough to eat, although she wouldn’t vouch for the nutritional value of their intake. Still, the girl who exists on bread, jelly and Nescafe has no room to talk. “My stomach can take the chow alright, but it’s another story how well my brain comprehends English. But let’s not spoil a lovely evening talking about that foul subject.”
She wonders what would she do without her dreams of him and their future? Her life began with him and if she were to lose the dreams of him, it would be like losing her life. “I love you so very much. Looks kinda lifeless on paper, doesn’t it? But believe me, it comes from the same heart and lips that told it to you a week ago.”
Her every prayer is that he won’t have to go overseas again, but if it should happen, she will know it’s for the best. Everything that’s happened to them so far has worked out for the best. “We have been two extremely lucky people and we must never fail God in showing him our gratitude.”
She hopes he’ll have a chance to see her family this weekend, but even more that they’ll get to see him. For now, the little men are tugging at her eyelids, so she must sleep.
