Dart’s letter begins, “Can it be that this is the last letter to my fiance? Even this will probably arrive after I do. May I watch you read it?”

Although this is his final letter to Dot before making her his wife, it is not an overly sentimental one. It’s filled with last minute news and commentary about his preparations to join her in Connecticut.

He tells her that they’ll have no idea for a long time how close his pessimistic predictions about his grades might be. His grades will probably arrive sometime in July, long after she has committed herself publicly and legally to him. I’m sure he hopes his grades won’t make her regret her decision.

In response to something Dot wrote about giving him some of Mr. Miller’s cast-off clothing, he writes, “Sorry to say my arms are not as long, nor my shoulders as broad as Mr. Miller’s, so I don’t think I can use his shirts. I wear either a 15/34 or a 15-1/2 /33, preferably the latter.”

He expects that her wedding dress will be a dream and that she’ll be the world’s prettiest bride. The thought gives him full-body tingles.

As sorry as he is that he missed young Eric’s birthday parties, he wonders if he will always be invited to little children’s soirees now that he’s in Dot’s orbit.

In her note that arrived on Thursday, she was already hurrying him up, and by now he guesses she must be a nervous wreck in anticipation of his arrival. When he kissed the big X on a recent letter, he felt a warm thrill at the thought of how close their next real kiss is. “It felt like somebody was dumping dry navy beans into my stomach!” (Ah, such a romantic wordsmith, our Dart.)

He’s a bit perplexed about the $25 balance in their “radio-phonograph fund.” He’s happy it has a nice balance, but he has no recollection of starting a special fund for that particular item. The news is a nice surprise because he knows such an acquisition would enhance their enjoyment of their cozy little apartment.

With George and Gordon acting as his ushers, the whole wedding seems to be turning into a Chamberlain affair. He fears that baby Gretchen will feel left out as the only member of the family who has not been pressed into duty. I think Dart must have shared my observation that even if Chamberlains outnumbered others by only one or two people, they always seem to be a huge majority. Most of the Chamberlain clan had bigger-than-life personalities.

He sure hopes he has something to show Chuck the next time the tyke is in Cleveland, but his own train layout is in rather sad shape at the moment.  He had hoped to take a spare roll of film and get some snapshots of various real trains in the Cleveland area to make a little book for Chuckie. Unfortunately, when there was film and money to accomplish the task, there was bad rain and no spare time. Still, it’s  thoughtful of Dart to have come up with such a gesture to please a small boy. (Or was it his sinister plot to recruit the younger generation into an obsession with railroads?)

He’s happy with the news that Ruth, Harriet, and Gretchen plan to make the trip to Ohio in September. That means he and Dot will have to get their little place fixed up pretty darn quick when they get home from the honeymoon. I’m not sure how they’ll do that, with Dot looking for employment, writing wedding thank-you notes, learning to cook, and taking care of Dart while he takes summer classes and more hours at work. He remarks that the only tools they’ll need to accomplish the renovations are a saw and a good plane. “After that, we need the ever short rations of time and money to stretch enough for us to finish the job.”

He had the trunk lock repaired today, for a cost of $4.00. That takes their bank balance down to $245.00 and he still needs to buy slippers. Also, he’d love to go to the formal dance Dot mentioned, but he needs to know how much the tickets are so he’ll know how much cash to bring with him.

“I’m so lonesome, and so tired, and so very much in love right now that I feel like the first seam in ‘Spring is Bustin’ Out All Over.’ Goodnight, my darling. Will you marry me?”

This may be his last premarital letter, but it’s not quite the end of the blog. Come back in a few days and I’ll have a few more posts to finish telling this remarkable story of young, true, and lasting love.