Dart begins, “Did you miss me in church this morning? How could you? You were right beside me.”
Their pennies now total $35.59, which he will get into a the bank soon, if he’s able to open another savings account in his name.
The family drove out to the lake today, but Uncle Guy is still in the hospital. Dart thinks the whole trip was a blasted waste of time, and a huge strain on the car. How he wishes they could put the car up on blocks until they can afford to fix it, because driving it without the repairs is very bad for the car. But they’re forced to use it because a streetcar ride is too much of a strain on Pop and tires him out for days.
“It’s midnight now and I want to get 8 hours of sleep between now and 7 a.m. I better get started. … I wish I were bringing you home with me in September, instead of just for a visit. We need each other. I love you with every fiber of my body and every idea of my mind. Remember the night we stood in the vestibule here and watched the storm through the front door, and just couldn’t break up our passionate embraces? I feel that way tonight.”
# # #
After getting two beautiful letters from Dart, Dot had a burning need to place a call to him and hear his voice. She’s so happy she did, for she’s feeling much better now.
She tells him she’s glad he went to see Dr. Singer – not because she has the least concern about his habit, but because she wants him to have peace of mind. “I wasn’t concerned about a maladjusted sexual relationship between us. Perhaps it is something I should think about, but we have always been in such perfect harmony with everything we do together that the idea we may have some adjusting to do never entered my mind.”
She gently teases him, saying she’s always had a soft spot in her heart for “pampered” children. “It’s so pathetic to hear them being razzed and called ‘sissies.’ Being brought up in a large family has its advantages. One has to learn self-defense, and I speak from painful experience. I like your ‘We’ll show ’em’ attitude!”
Yes, she may miss the Bendix when she’s married, but not nearly as much as she misses him now. She thinks she’s getting the better deal of having him for a husband over a Bendix washer. Also, she’ll consider it a privilege to iron his shirts by hand, if he’ll let her.
There won’t be much fancy cooking up at Sunapee, but he should lay aside his fears because El will be doing most of it. The only cooking Dot will do is the fish she plans to catch for breakfast one morning while he’s still asleep.
His Sunapee wardrobe sounds sensible, but he can leave the long-johns at home. She assures him that they will certainly have plenty of time to sit by the fire, toasting marshmallows and popping corn.
She explains that her mother always talks about people being “journey proud,” a phrase that came to her from her own mother. It means thinking about nothing but an upcoming trip, staying awake at night imagining the journey, possibly losing your appetite, although that never happens to Dot.
Was he able to fix the washing machine, or has he simply added to his collection of spare parts? She’ll be happy to go on a double date with Tom Reilly and some “frail,” but she wonders who will keep the poor, fragile thing company?
She shares Dart’s low opinion of Danny Kaye and other similar “funnymen.” They have both discussed their mutual admiration of the “Men, Women, and God” book. See what she means about them always being in harmony?
Yes, she remembers when he prayed aloud one night. She thought he was so saintly then, and now. “The things you do are so sincere and good and right. You have already far surpassed my fondest hopes of the kind of man I would have for a husband. You’re everything to me, Darling, and I depend on you far more than you realize.”
She tells him that the time she waited between placing the call and actually hearing his voice was like an eternity, but when she heard him, it was as though the blackest cloud split open and the shimmering sun shone through.