Today there are two letters from Dart, written while he was flat on his stomach recovering from what he calls his “Grand Opening.” He explains that he’ll have to stay tied up in this position for at least nine days, on a liquid diet. This one-handed, one-eyed position makes letter writing difficult, so he warns that he’ll be writing just as often, but probably short letters for awhile. He then proceeds to fill a total of eight pages! There’s some pretty witty stuff for a guy who’s in pain and hog-tied in a corset.
Finally he gets a mail delivery of several letters, including some from Dot. Sadly, at least one of her letters did not survive into the 21st century. I can only rely on Dart’s response to it and on Mom’s memories to figure out what it said.
Of greatest interest is a scolding Dot apparently gave Dart in one of the letters. To Mom’s best recollection, she called him out for the liberal use of the word “darling” in his letters. She felt it was way too early in their relationship to be throwing around such passionate terms, especially considering how young they both are. Dart’s response was perfect. “This is the time for confessions. All my life, I’ve been afraid of moving a little too fast with some girl. Consequently, I’ve always been very slow; in fact too slow for all of the girls I’ve ever gone with. I honestly apologize for overstepping my bounds, I assure it’s the first time, and I also assure you that it’s not too insincere…I’m as old fashioned as they come.”
In another part of her letter, Dot must have finally mentioned that she hated to be called Dorothy. In his reply today, he vows he’ll switch to calling her “Dot,” but declares that he’ll miss “Dorothy,” which he thinks is such a pretty name. Dot seems to be getting pretty comfortable with him, if she can mention her dislike of the words darling and Dorothy with such gentle directness.
He accepted her offer of a package. He reminded her that she had once offered to make him fudge when she saw him at Christmas, but now it looks like he’ll be in the hospital over the holidays. Hmmm. Maybe he’d like some of that fudge now!
Dart dreams of being stationed somewhere close enough to Cleveland that he might be able to come to one of her date nights every once in a while. He expresses regret that they weren’t able to get better acquainted before he had to leave Ohio, but he’s getting to know her rather well through her letters.
Throughout their long correspondence, Dot will often tell Dart of her very vivid dreams. This time, she has told him that she’s been dreaming of horses ever since she met him. He jokes that if her “horses” had long ears, she was probably dreaming about him because plenty of folks have called him a jackass in his day.
He congratulates Dot on being able to fix the radio in her room. “You’re just the girl I’ve been looking for! I can fix anything but a radio. We could use a girl like you in ward C South. Our radio’s on the bum.”
He closes the letter by promising that he will not use “dear” or “darling” again until he has her permission. How cute.
