Dart is beating himself up a little. Rather than mail her his letter yesterday, he went to the Skyline meeting “Leaving my brain, my wits, and my letter to you right here on my desk.” Consequently, she’ll get two letters on the same day and he’ll number the envelopes so she’ll know which one to open first.
He’s been thinking about her chaperoning jobs. How was the ice show? How did the dance go? Did she have fun? Were the kids any trouble? Did she get the job?
Today was his Aunt Elizabeth’s 70th birthday. He can’t believe she’s that old because she’s so young in spirit. (In my earliest memories of Aunt Elizabeth some 10 years after this letter was written, she strikes me as a tiny withered lady of about 127, with a discernible twinkle in her eye.)
Pop seems to be picking up a bit now. Dart was very worried about him when he first got home, and blames his concern over his father for the depressed letter he consigned to the furnace last Saturday.
He commented on the old stationery Dot used recently. It was cute and colorful stuff, left over from her days at Andrews. It sure brought back some great old memories of those days that now seem so very long ago,
He agrees that the wedding invitations seem expensive. He liked learning about all the colors of the bridesmaid dresses, and he reports back to Dot that the ushers will be wearing black and white. He likes the limited choices faced by grooms.
“That nightie your mother made must be something from a dream. ‘Wait and see,’ she says. What else can I do, doggone it! Gee, how will I ever find you in all that nightie?”
# # #
Dot begins this letter in a serious mood. What she really wants is a nice long conversation with her fiance – not another attempt at addressing concerns via mail. Although her days could not be a success if they started with no letter from him, letters are beginning to bother her because she wants so much more. By the time one of them writes his or her thoughts on a serious topic and mails them, then waits for a response, whatever was bothering them has passed. A case in point is the letter she wrote about her job and the strike. “By the time your answer arrived, my mood had changed and I wasn’t receptive to the good advice you sent me. Result: Nothing was gained and I’m afraid much of your time was wasted. …I’m not very happy with the present set-up. I feel we’re going to be cheated these next two months out of some good discussions. It’s so easy for me to talk when I’m with you, and so difficult for me to write.”
She believes he still has unresolved concerns about an incident that happened between them in January. She wishes he’d come clean with her. If he thinks she handled the situation wrong, then he should tell her. She certainly won’t be hurt or angry if he has a different opinion from hers. In fact, she’d be very interested in knowing what his thoughts are on the subject.
Well, on Monday morning at 8:30, she starts her new job – but it’s not at the YWCA!. She’ll be working at the Price and Lee Company, collecting information for the town directory. She’ll work six days a week until 5:30, walking all over town, talking to people. The job will last until June 1 and pay $30 a week. That’s not as much as she would have made at the phone company, but far more than the Y could have paid her. She also likes that the job is temporary, so she won’t be letting anyone down when she leaves in June.
It may be that she has disappointed Dart by quitting her operator’s job, but she can’t afford not to work. As it stands now, she has a job to go to on Monday, and the strikers will still be on strike. Besides, how would it look if she didn’t walk the picket line and then went back to work, making the same hourly rate as those who did picket? “To me, that would be just as undemocratic as the strike itself.”
She apologizes for not commenting on his desire to work full time in July. “Believe me, honey. It isn’t because I’m not interested. I’m either half asleep when I write to you, or I have so much to tell you that I just skim over your letters, missing many of your questions.” Although she has lots of ideas of how he could spend four or five evenings a week, she realizes that he needs to make lots of money before returning to school in order to feel secure. She wishes him the best of luck in getting that job at the PD.