As Dot writes, she has just completed a luxurious bubble bath with some stuff she got for Christmas. It was fun and it made her smell “purdy” and now she’s so relaxed she can barely hold the pen. “Best of all, the bubble bath acts as a water softener and makes the tub easier to clean. Nothing lazy about me; I just don’t like to work!”
She and her friend Nancy are finally able to get together tomorrow. They plan to see “The Green Years” which Dot has wanted to see for awhile.
A postcard from Cynthia arrived today, mailed from Oregon. She told Dot she’d be back in Greenwich by mid September, but then she’ll be leaving for school in Ohio. Then, just about the time Cynthia returns to Greenwich permanently, Dot will be moving to Ohio for good. Dot feels badly that Cynthia feels like a stranger to her because it’s been so long since they visited with each other.
She also feels badly about Dart’s father. She can understand why Dart is worried about him, if worry could do any good. She must disagree with Dart’s feelings that because of what has happened to his father, he must himself be “cynical, hard-hearted and impulsive.” She says, “Don’t make yourself disagreeable to you and all with whom you come in contact merely to fight against becoming like your father.”
“Far be it from me to claim any knowledge about such things, but it seems to me that if you act less worried and more interested in the things that interest him, he’ll at least show some improvement. What he really needs, though, is to spend a few weeks in the Chamberlain household, where everything is done on the spur of the moment and nobody gives a d – – – for convention or what Mrs. Grundy has to say about anything.”
Regarding his frets about the wedding, she writes, “Darling, if you don’t stop worrying about everything, you’ll never be able to pass your psych tests or anything else. It doesn’t matter to me what kind of wedding we have, as long as we have one. Mom says she never heard of the groom paying transportation fare for the ushers. I certainly don’t plan to if my school chums act as bridesmaids. As long as you’re the groom and I’m the bride, the rest doesn’t matter.”
“And don’t get gray hairs over financial troubles. I have a feeling that by next June, that shoestring we’re going to start out on won’t have nearly as many knots in it as you so pessimistically anticipate. I’ve saved $200.00 now and by next June when we pool our resources, we’ll have a lot more than Betty and Gordon started out on. In fact, they began their marriage owing $800.00.”
“Come on, buck up, smile, and laugh off some of these cooked up troubles. Remember, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ but once the foundation was there, it didn’t take long. And it looks to me like we’ve got the foundation for one whale of a happy married life together. You know why? ‘Cuz I love you and I have reason to believe you love me too. Where’s that smile? That’s better. Here’s a kiss – xxxxxxxx.”