Here’s another bona fide love letter from Dart, written after a telephone call to his beloved on the night of her prom. It contains all the requisite ingredients of a love letter – talk of kisses, caresses and dreams. A message of longing and tenderness, such as this: “For every word of letter, please accept a paragraph or more of dream. It’s too much dream to write. … I love you very much, my dearest, and I hope it will go on that way (but not this way) for an eternity.

Dot’s letter reflects the thrill she got from the prom night phone call from her beau. She is so touched by his thoughtfulness, including the flowers he sent through the Red Cross. She seems a little more shy than Dart at expressing her feelings, but every bit as sure of them as he is.

Dot’s natural charm and easy wit are sprinkled throughout the letter. Example:

• “I just read over what I have written thus far and discovered that I have used the word ‘how’ exactly seven times. Must be I’m a direct descendant of Minnie Ha Ha.”
• When thanking Dart for the flowers, she writes “‘Thank you’ is hardly sufficient to show my appreciation, but since my vocabulary is as meager as Captain Ellis’ heart, there is little else I can say.”

The letter is chock full of other news about her final days at Andrews. A cottage mate gave her some stationery with cupids on it and wrote a sweet note about Dart. During the big dance, she and Andy amused themselves by cleaning the bathroom and then dancing to the radio on the wet floors. Formal classes are over for good, and practice for the Sing-out ceremony are in full swing. She’s a little sad that there will be no one there on her behalf at this emotional service. She’s going to dinner at the Peterson’s place before she leaves for Connecticut. And she has issued a formal invitation to Dart to attend her final prom in February when she comes back to campus for graduation. No one mentions it, but there is no way of guessing where the young sailor may be in February if the war continues.

In the end, she circles back around to the tender thoughts that began the letter. “I love you very much, Dart, and I think it’s going to stay that way for at least a thousand years.”