Dart’s schedule allows him a short break in the evening to answer Dot’s letters. He agrees with her thoughtful letter of late; he thinks they are missing something by writing instead of talking.

He believes letters have taken them as far as they can go and that they would certainly benefit from more conversation. He recalls that Dot once doubted she would ever be able to discuss intimate things with him face-to-face. “Yet, by working up to it gently, now nothing I can think of is forbidden in our talks, and we do so honestly. … Our letters have achieved an intimacy that we never dreamed of when we first started.”

He’s very complimentary of her recent letter. He says it’s well written, deep, and thoughtful. It was more like some of the conversations they’ve had than her usual letters. He says, kindly, but perhaps a bit patronizingly, that learning to write is a slower process than learning to talk. As an outside observer, I would say that although Dot doesn’t express deep ideas as frequently as Dart, when she does, her writing style is more direct, down to earth, and digestible than his lofty, often verbose essays.

From her letter, he assumes that she believes the letter he wrote but never sent had centered on a misunderstanding they’d had in January. He writes now that only a paragraph or two of that condemned letter had dealt with the January incident. The rest was about his fear, anger, and depression over Pop’s state of mind. But since she asked, he’ll tell her what was on his mind regarding the January incident.

I won’t go into much detail, but when Dot first arrived, she told Dart she’d had a long talk with herself about how dangerous their desires for each other were getting. She was determined that her week in Cleveland would not result in any behavior they would both regret. At one point late in her visit, Dart asked Dot for something she was not willing to give. He thought he detected disappointment in her voice and disgust in her eyes when he voiced his request. He left the room then. “I wouldn’t have tried then, or perhaps ever, to talk myself back into your good graces, or to ask you to love me again, because I never felt more unworthy of your love and trust. I broke your trust that night, Dot, and I’m ashamed to say that I would have given up that easily. Out of all that lust and breaking of my honor, (and attempt at breaking yours, which is worse) I realized that I deserved to be left. Thank you very much, Dot, for calling me back to talk it over. A thing I am afraid of is that some moment like that, when I’d give up too easily, would cause our marriage to go bad.”

Wow.

Looking back, now that he sees how that situation was resolved, he’s glad the incident happened because they’ve learned so much from it. He’s glad she brought it up and he’d love to hear her perspective when they can talk in person.

#          #          #

Dot’s letter is really just a note. She and Nancy went for a long walk last night and Dot nearly collapsed when she got home. Hence, no letter to Dart yesterday.

She liked his swell letter, but she cautions that he shouldn’t get too worked up over the strike. She did, and has found it changes nothing. She will not be petitioning the union for a refund of her union fees because they have only deducted $5.99 in the whole time she’s worked there. She just wants to put the whole business behind her.

She’ll try to write more tonight, but the only important thing she has to say is that she loves him.