Dart begins, “Gosh, I wish you were here! We’d have so much fun doing my work! I think you’d get a big kick out of the American Lit we’ve had recently. Some of those old birds (and biddies) were really humorous, whether they intended it that way or not. Mr. Carter, by his few words and supplementary material in class, has made the first century in the American literary scene seem vital, very much alive. Maybe I’ll like this class.”
He goes on to say that this teacher is a smart guy. He called the role the first two days, but by the third class, he called each student by name, without looking at his notes or seating chart. He gets a kick out of his subject, and so do we, from him.
He feels less fondly toward his Industry class. He doesn’t like the instructor and the text book “gripes” him; it is boring and dry. The teacher’s name describes his voice, his posture, his character, “and possibly his head.” The man’s name is “Wood.”
His Spanish class seems easy, but it must be harder than he thought because he hardly ever gets anything right in class. With a test looming on Monday, he’ll have to study extra hard to make sure he can manage the material.
“Journalism’s coming along okay, but I’m still open for a decision on it. I’ve had two very unimportant papers returned with As on them. Good for the ego, but bad for the soul.”
He describes his Prose Workshop as a “doozey.” He says, “At the beginning of the period, Miss Tallmadge throws us animals a chunk of stuff to chew on. She’ll ask us to fill a blank in a short sentence with any word which comes to our mind, then to give a reason for our choice of that word. She reads us stories, essays, articles, or narratives and then asks for our comments on them: Why we thought they were good; what the main points of interest to us were; and stuff like that. In that way, she gets us to express our own feelings. Says writing must be genuine, spontaneous, and unhurried. It’s a stimulating class and I could use it twice a week, if I could crank out enough words to satisfy. ” They were asked to turn in something they’d already written and he submitted the letter he’d written the first time he’d encountered the beautiful island of Saipan.
Now for the big news! His mother got a job today! She starts tomorrow, working in the cafeteria in the Federal Reserve Bank. She’ll work from 10 AM to 3 PM, six days a week. He reports that it pays pretty well. She seems to like the place, and he hopes she’ll continue to like it.
Speaking of jobs, he writes that the one he applied for still haunts him. He still hopes he’ll hear from them, even then all real hope is lost by now. He’d love to have a job where he could write and earn money. Soon, he’ll be forced to take anything that makes money.
He wonders if El has found a new job yet. What does the current situation do to her plans for a “pink-plush-and-purple-plastic convertible?”
The Lucky Joe piggy bank has accumulated $1.99 in pennies. He’ll scrounge around for a few more scraps for the little porker and then bury it all deeply into their joint savings account.
Yesterday morning at precisely 7:00, he awoke with a start when he heard Dot calling him. It wasn’t a soothing call – more like a frantic one, as though she was afraid of something. He hopes she can explain it because he’s been unsettled by it ever since.
He has an invitation from his new church to come to a dinner next Wednesday, given in honor of new members. He’d like to go if he can spare the time, even if it means another night of skipping his letter time with Dot.
That’s nice news about the Meyerink’s “Little Red Mare. He wonders how much they charge to look at it and he hopes the price will have dropped by his next trip to Greenwich so he can give the Studebaker the once-over.
The moon this week was spectacular. Just has he was wishing it were last month and he could stand by the lake and gaze at the moon with Dot, the clouds over Cleveland parted and the big full moon peeked through.
He’s distressed by her invitation to come for December. He doesn’t see any way that will be possible, but he’ll keep hoping to see a way. He has only a few dollars in his account, but Christmas is coming. Still, he can’t think of a thing he’d rather do with any surplus funds than go see his fiance.
And now, he returns to the topic of their misunderstanding during their vacation. “If I can be perfectly frank (at the risk of causing another misunderstanding), I still feel that I was a little justified in wondering what the score was that night. But I don’t feel justified in making such a d— fool of myself by talking too soon, the way I did, and placing our whole future in jeopardy. Oh, that was awful, Dot. Whatever else it did, it showed us that we can’t take everything granted, nor can we always be sure that everything we do is acceptable to the other. It showed us lessons that we’ll still be learning for a long time. It showed me tolerance and patience; perhaps it showed you that too much of a good thing ceases to be good; and it shows us some things about each other that we must look out for and adjust to. I’m glad we have come through such an experience still in love, and not embittered. Dot, you will be as vital to me as I am to you. I may yet depend on you for as much, or more as you now depend on me. Then we’ll be most of the way up that mountain. I liked that part of your letter. It just fits us.”
I spoke with my mother recently about this mysterious misunderstanding. The only thing she could imagine these letters referred to was a fight she’d told me about when I was a kid. It happened after the two had spent a lovely, but tense week at Lake Sunapee, being over-chaperoned by Eleanor. On the one hand, the week was probably the most concentrated time these love birds had ever spent in each other’s presence. On the other hand, they were allowed no intimate moments – scarcely able to hold hands under Eleanor’s watchful eye. Fast forward a few days when they were back in Greenwich, before leaving for Cleveland. Dot was driving Dart around town and came to a rolling stop at a remote intersection. Dart, from the passenger seat, said firmly, “That sign said ‘Stop.'” Dot continued to drive on in silence. When she came to the next stop sign, she stopped. And waited. And waited some more. At last Dart said to her, “What are you waiting for?” She responded, “I’m waiting for the sign to say ‘Go.'”
Dart apparently took her flip remark very badly. He was naturally a fairly sensitive guy anyway. He was very worried about his father’s emotional state and the dire financial situation his family was enduring. And now, his fiance, whom he perceived to be a sweet , compliant, and adoring girl, had shown her feisty and sarcastic streak. Perhaps she’d over-reacted, but there’s no doubt that Dart certainly did. Things blew up. Harsh words were spoken, and Dot offered to give him the ring back. It is they only fight they had before they were married (and one of the rare fights in the 58 years that followed), but it left a mark on both of them. Now, 70 years later, Dot still takes most of the blame. “My sarcasm has always gotten me into trouble,” she says now.
# # #
Dot writes, “It’s now 12:45 AM, but don’t feel sorry for me for I’ve not been spending all evening doing homework. I’ve been reminiscing a bit while looking through my scrapbook which, by the way, is sadly in need of attention. We’ve had lots of fun together, even though we’ve been separated a good portion of the three years we’ve known each other. The past three years have been the best of my life. I wish I could describe the feeling I get when I wake up each morning and think how very much I love you. I’ll never stop thanking ‘the powers that be’ for letting me know you and love you.”
“I gave your parents credit for having better taste.” She’s referring to the photo of her that they’ve taken from Dart. “Perhaps they thought only of trying to spare you by taking it from your sight. “As for your flattery – thanks, Honey, but I’ll love you just as much if you don’t give with the pretty talk. ‘Course, it sounds awfully nice, so you needn’t give it up completely.”
Now she hopes she’ll get a good close-up of him very soon – soon enough so that she’ll have time to enjoy it before she gets to be “close-up” to the real thing!
El decided to go into partnership with her father at the shop. Meanwhile, Dot earned $10.00 working 2 days at Rogers – “Or, at least that’s what they paid me.”