Dart dashed off this hurried note on his way to a farewell party in the mess. He was looking forward to bidding adieu to this “unholy, unwholesome hole.”
He’d finally received a letter from Tom Riley, a V-12 buddy at Case, but there was no real news in it.
He informs her that he’ll be Peterson, S 2/c after tomorrow. (I’m assuming that’s Seaman, second class. That’s all there is for today.
Dot and Dart were on the same wavelength today. Both of them wrote in pencil. Dot has a slow day at work, so she’s using her time to write to Dart.
Knowing that Dart will be reading this letter in Cleveland, she asks if he has gotten in touch with any of his former roommates from Case yet. When he does, she reminds him to be sure and thank Johnny Rusch for passing Dot’s message to Dart that day several months ago – the message that she really liked to get mail. It seems to be responsible for what came after for these two young lovers. Speaking of mail reminded Dot that there is a certain male she’d like to receive at her home next Sunday!
It’s nearly time to close up shop now. Dot needs to cover her merchandise with curtains before she heads home. She writes that the job is getting better all the time. Now she has a half day off each week and the store closes at 4:00 on Saturdays.
She tells him that a co-worker who reads palms as a hobby gave her a reading this week. “She told me all about my shortcomings and I thought she’d never finish. The trouble is, everything she said about me sounds just like me. Thank goodness you were not around to hear it!”
She said she’d try to write more from home later in the day, and she managed to find the time in another letter. She writes that El offered to write to Dart with a warm invitation to come to Greenwich. Dot thought that an additional invitation from an unbiased source might add weight to the idea, so El is writing him tonight.
She says she knows how her family would feel if Gordon finally got leave after months of being away, and spent a few days of it away from home. They may not say anything, but they wouldn’t be happy. The last thing she wants is to give his parents a reason not to like her, so she doesn’t want to risk it by his coming out. Still… “I guess I’d better not hope for too much. We’ve got plenty of time for such things (It says here.)”
She’s having difficulty expressing all of her thoughts on the subject of a visit. She doesn’t want to discourage him if he has the slightest inclination. It would be wonderful to introduce him to everyone and to see him herself. However, there is the chance that he will discover he doesn’t really like her very much, and she’d hate for that to be the outcome. (Do you believe this girl?)
Her family was discussing the GOP convention this evening, and she asked her father why he didn’t run for President. He replied, “I’d have about as much chance as a snow ball being chased by an asbestos cat through the hottest streets of Hades.”
She says her parents have abandoned plans for their trip to New Hampshire this weekend because Don’s parents are coming to visit. (And you, I hope, she adds, helpfully.)
In case he needs a recommendation about the Chamberlain hospitality, she offers her own. She thinks it’s nice. Perhaps the beds are a bit too hard, but she hears the Navy has given up their box springs lately, as well. If she has not convinced him to visit, she deems herself a failure in life. “PLEASE COME, DART,” she pleads.
