Something’s amiss in Dart’s world. Two whole days without a letter from Dot! He reminds her to be sure to put the R in the ship’s name, as well as the number DD885 on the envelope. There’s a ship called “J. E. Craig” which is a DE and both ships are always getting each other’s mail.

He went into town again last night. After checking all the theaters, he found a hillbilly band at one, “The Spanish Main” at another, “Isle of Dead” at a third, and finally settled on “Youth Aflame” at his favorite 4th-rate cinema house. No stars, no plot, other than “good triumphs over evil,” no claim to fame.

After the movie he bought some candy and comic books for some guys who are restricted to the ship. There was no need to eat dinner out because he’d stayed aboard until he’d eaten at the mess, allowing himself to save some money.  He checked out a USO dance class, but didn’t join in.  While there, he spotted an unattended phonograph and a stack of classical records, so he put on Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony and settled in for some easy listening. Before long, a small group had gathered and they stuck around to hear the “Nutcracker Suite,” and the “Overture to Romeo and Juliet.” He deems one of the passages in the latter piece to be one of the most beautiful and relaxing pieces of music ever written.

He thinks a phonograph and a small library of records would make a great wedding present for them, and he hopes someone thinks of it. They’ll need music to help them fill in the blue hours while they wait for their house to become a reality. The records will fill some of the shelves he keeps sketching into his designs.

Today, he had a long watch. Several welders were working aboard the ship with acetylene burners. A fire watchman had to stand by with a CO2 extinguisher in case of a fire. He was able to put out several small ones with his squirts of fluffy snowflakes that snuff out the flames. “We’d never have lost the Normandie if the fire watch had been on the ball.” It must have been good for Dart’s mood to have some constructive work to do, at last.

In an attempt to get to the bottom of his frequent headaches, he’s having his eyes checked tomorrow. The Chief Pharmacist’s Mate thinks eye troubles might also be causing his stomach trouble and loss of appetite.

That’s all he has to say tonight, except that all he can think about is coming home to her and the need for letters stopping forever.

Dot has plenty to do, but the most enjoyable thing is to write to Dart. How could he be so thoughtless as to keep her hanging like that? What was he thinking of in his last letter when he told her he didn’t want to get her hopes up and he’d tell her in a month if his idea had worked out. Now he MUST tell her what he’s thinking about. She’s feverishly curious to know what he’s plotting.

She’s been studying science for hours and now she knows exactly nothing. What in the heck are protons, electrons, neutrons and positrons? She needs a good grade on her test, but she fears she’ll never get it.

Belatedly she tells Dart how glad she is that he has a buddy to share his liberties with. How sad she’ll be when she learns that Bevins has been transferred to another section and Dart is once again all alone.

She’ll have to wait until tomorrow to answer the rest of his letter, but isn’t it nice she won’t have to wait to tell him how much she loves him? She misses him more every day, and she suggests he simply resign from the Navy and come home to stay.