Dart is writing at the end of an enjoyable day of leave in San Francisco, using V-mail paper he got at the Pepsi-Cola Center.

While he was in town, he had his picture taken twice. They’re not as good as he was hoping for, but he’s sending them along anyway.

He spent every moment of his day alone feeling as though Dot were with him. He rented a bicycle, wishing it had been a tandem, and rode around a park lake. Then he crossed the Bay Bridge to see Since You Went Away. “I won’t mince words about it, nor will I hide my feelings. I liked it very much, and I cried,” he said, mincing words.

Before the letter gets maudlin and he misses the last bus back to Shoemaker, he must wrap it up. “I’ll kiss you goodnight here. Remember how we walked upstairs together the last night?”

Dot writes that she was finally able to send a package to his folks. She managed to gather 10 packs of Pall Malls for Pop, so she hopes he hasn’t quit smoking “for the duration.” What did people mean by that phrase? The duration of the war? It’s not something you hear much anymore. In fact, the only person I ever knew who used it frequently was my grandmother, Ruth Chamberlain.

She reports that she and El went bowling today and were embarrassed by their miserable scores. It only proves how much practice they need. “And to think my very own mother was women’s champion of Greenwich! I’m a disgrace to her name (in more ways than one). Anyway, I beat El.”

There’s a new moon tonight which reminds her that she and Dart were cheated out of even the last quarter moon while he was in Cleveland. She firsts suggests they have a full moon the next time they’re together, but then concedes that it won’t matter if there’s a moon or not, because they’ll be looking at each other.”

She emphatically proclaims that no one could love anyone more than she loves him. Even so, people in love still need to sleep, which she must do now.

If he doesn’t get mail on Thanksgiving she hopes he has a happy one. She’s sent him a little package that she hopes will arrive on time.

I wondered why she’s talking about Thanksgiving so early until I remembered this thing called “Franksgiving.” During the depression or the war years, FDR requested that the nation celebrate the holiday on the third Thursday of November instead of the fourth. I think the theory was that it would extend the holiday shopping season by one week and rev up the economy with more consumer spending.