This is a strange letter from Dart, written “at very nearly the end of the second day of my fourth year as a peon of the United States Navy. …It’s also the second day in a row for which there has been no letter from my fiance’. Oh, my dearest, how I hope that this lack of letters when news is most desired is a failing of the mail system, and not an indication that you’ve become even more ill.”
He muses for a long paragraph about why the human mind tends to think of bad and morbid things more easily than it does the brighter, cheerier possibilities. Is it ego? Is it fear? In the end, he concludes that he’d like to study psychology to be able to understand his ponderings.
Suddenly, he has an epiphany that his letters have gradually lost hall trace of humor. He no longer writes tongue-in-cheek. He rarely grins at something he’s written. Even his old trick of satire eventually turned to bitter sarcasm and turned him bitter himself. He can’t recall what it feels like to pen a pun or turn a phrase, but he’s going to try to tickle a little humor from these dry old letters one of these days.
Thinking of tickling has caused him to daydream of the times when either he or she did a little tickling of the other in the midst of a deep embrace. Ah! The joy those memories bring. “Gee, Dot, I’m almost as excited from thinking of a composite of all our nights at your house and all our nights at our house as I was when we were so enthralled with each other, in person. I want to make love to you forever. Darling, I miss you so much. Please get well soon.”
Dot is happy to learn that Dart will still be in the country for Christmas. even though they won’t see each other, maybe he’ll be able to call her that day. If he can, he should let her know what time he plans to call so she’ll be sure to stick around the house.
Going through his recent letter, she responds to several points: She hopes he’s received her letter of Nov. 30 by now, It was a long one, and although not up to his standard masterpiece, she still wants to get his reaction to it. She hopes his cold is much better by now because there’s a certain person in Kent who has fallen hard for him and wants him to be healthy and happy. She’s glad he likes “Lyric” for the silver pattern. Shall they agree that’s their pattern? With 1700 pennies collected so far, they may have almost enough for a place setting already! ($17.00 for a place setting of sterling? Wow!) She saw the issue of “Life” he referred to, but didn’t spend much time on the article about houses. She’s sure the ideas are great. “Do you come with the house, or can I get you separately beforehand?” She’ll send his uninspired Christmas gift soon and begin planning something better for next year. Will they be together for the holiday in 1946? He’ll probably want to spend his first post-Navy Christmas with his folks, and she can’t imagine a Christmas without her family, but there’s no need to fret about that now. Yes, he’s right about her and Ellie getting along well these days, but it’s not all her doing. It’s been a 50-50 proposition, and Dot’s glad it’s working out so well.
There was some more excitement at the house this evening when Joyce came home with a sparkler on her finger. Dot and Ellie took her out for a celebratory dinner of burgers and fries.
It’s 1:00 AM and she has class tomorrow. That means it’s bedtime.
