Dot marvels at how Dart can churn out long, interesting letters nearly every day when he has so much else going on in his life. She tells him how much she appreciates being on the receiving end of those letters. She also appreciates that he’s already volunteering for extra duty at his new church. My, doesn’t she have so much to proud of him for?
She’s happy to hear that Al isn’t too stuck on Phyllis because Dot’s not sure she’s worth it. She’s a good student, though, and may be the only one of the Olin house girls who finishes her degree. Speaking of that, Dot has no regrets that she didn’t return to school this year.
Fred seems to have had some sort of epiphany. Does Dart have any explanation? Perhaps one of his few remaining friends told Fred that he’d soon have no friends at all if he didn’t adjust his attitude. Or maybe his fiance Bettie has had something to do with the new Fred.
She mentions that she still hasn’t left the vacation prints Dart wanted at the camera store, but she promises to get there soon. That little paragraph made me realize how quickly camera stores vanished from our daily lives once digital photography became the norm. Who has to wait for photos anymore, much less take them somewhere for development, or pay for film? I guess the money we all save on photos helps us pay those inflated prices for cell phone service and television.
I’m happy to see that Dot pushed back a little on Dart’s assumption that she would not be happy going to concerts, plays, lectures, etc. I would just prefer that she didn’t always take the blame for the misunderstanding. You’ll see what I mean in her next paragraph.”I must have a very poor way of expressing myself because I’m often so misunderstood. You must think I’m an old ‘stay-at-home.’ But if that’s true, why are you afraid I’ll get to be like Mom? Well, anyway, I love Duke Ellington, concerts, movies, plays, lectures, art museums, etc. Perhaps the reason I still get butterflies before I go to any affair like the aforementioned is because I haven’t been to very many. Oh, enough to know that I love going to them, but not enough so they bore me. What I meant by ‘Let’s not go chasing around,’ was let’s not have to go someplace all the time. Betty B gets bored as soon as she has to stay in one place for a few minutes. She wants to go someplace every night of the week and I know it’s a strain on Gordon who has to catch a train at 7:00. That’s why I didn’t want us to get into the habit. But as far as going places, especially with you, Darling, I love it! There, have I convinced you? Until you’re rich and famous, we won’t have an awful lot to spend on entertainment anyway, so what ever we see or do, we’ll have to make it wholesome and worthwhile. Is it a deal???”
She writes I LOVE YOU in large letters, and then explains that wasn’t just to use up the space on the page. She wrote it big because her love for him is big.