Dart’s still in port. Mail call today yielded three more letters from Dot, nearly filling in the gaps that were left from previous deliveries. “Boy, how the fellas rejoice when the ‘sugar reports’ come in!” I love how these sailors have slang, jargon and nicknames for just about everything. I wonder how long it takes to become fluent in “sea speak.”
Dart’s looking forward to seeing “To Have and Have Not” in the Fantail Theater Under the Stars tonight. He tried to see it three times at Shoemaker, but the lines were always too long.
He too looks forward to the time he and Dot can do ordinary celebrations like coloring Easter eggs together. But she better be on her toes; that might be a good time for him to slip an ice cube down her back!
He announces that he’ll have to change the name of the ship’s theater to “Haggard Cloud-Roofed Shower-Bath because it has just started to rain. Looks like it’s not in the cards for him to see that movie he’s so keen on watching.
In a recent letter, Dot was imagining just what her reaction would be if she opened the elevator doors and saw Dart standing there. He admits to spending most of his time daydreaming about the same kind of thing, but he knows it’ll be a very long time before he can surprise her on a visit to Greenwich. Thinking about it only makes the waiting worse. When he does see her the next time, he hopes she’ll do that thing where she whistles sharply through her teeth. He gets quite a kick out of that little trick of hers. (Of course, he gets quite a kick out of nearly everything she thinks, does or wears.)
How he wishes they’d been born earlier so they could have met sooner so they’d be married by now.
Here’s another breezy, chatty, funny letter from Dot. She and Nancy went way out into the countryside surrounding Greenwich where they picked violets, Ruth Chamberlain’s favorite flower. As they walked and picked, they sang every round and duet they’d ever learned in Girl Scouts. They had “loads of fun.” That got me thinking – would two 18-year old girls today think it was “loads of fun” to sing silly old songs on a long walk while picking wild flowers? I can’t quite see it.
When they got home, Ruth let Dot drive as far as the Miller’s house. Although her mother was nervous, Dot vouches that everyone arrived safe and sound. Once there, Mrs. Miller suggested Dot practice driving their old Austin around the driveway. (Must be quite a driveway if one can drive around in it!) Then Dot and Nancy played baseball with the boys. Two-year old Chris was the pitcher and he was about to strike Dot out when Ruth returned to pick her up.
The night before, Dot, a cousin, and Nancy went to see “National Velvet.” She loved it! It was in Technicolor and was beautiful to watch in addition to being a very good story. She tells Dart that she’ll forgive him for not writing some night if he instead spends it seeing that film.
There was only one thing that happened today – and she only mentions it because it was funny. She got a call from the choir director at church telling her that she’d heard Dot had a lovely alto voice. Since they were in great need of altos in the choir, she wondered if Dot would consider joining. Dot thinks it might be a joke being played on the unsuspecting choir leader, but she agreed to join since she’d already promised herself to start going to church every Sunday anyway. “Of course, she hasn’t heard me bellow yet. She’ll be sorry, but she asked for it.” As usual, Dot is selling herself short. She has a very nice, harmonious voice and has spent most of her adult life singing in one church choir or another. She still sings in one today!
El and Don were all set to try the going-to-college-while-working-while-being-married arrangement, but Don decided it would be too hard, so they’ve postponed their marriage until 1948! El is very disappointed because they’ve already been engaged for a year and that’s a long time to wait. Still, Don will be safe in this country, and only as far away as Boston, so they can see each other often. In Dot’s opinion, Don is wrong to postpone and believes they could work it out, but El wants to do what makes Don happy. Besides, “little sisters” aren’t allowed an opinion.
In a surprise announcement, Dot declares her deep love for Dart. “Guess it’s ’cause you’re so smart in everything except what I’m glad you’re not smart about. It’s been 5 months, 6 days and 13 1/2 hours since I last saw you, and yet it seems like years and years. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for just 10 of any of the minutes I’ve spent with you. It would help to keep me going ’til we can be together again for a more permanent length of time. Say, maybe forever.”
Curfew is upon her and she must turn out the light.
