Dot begins her letter at noon, shortly after her biology class. The professor stopped in the middle of his lecture to give a surprise test, and then interrupted them again during lab to give another test. “Oh, rats! How can I pass a test I don’t study for when I can’t even pass a test I do study for? Must dash to basketball class.” (In the interest of truth, I doubt there was ever a test that Dot didn’t pass – just as there was probably never one she passed with a high enough score to satisfy herself.  Dot has always been a harsh critic of Dot.)

She resumes the letter later that night, delighted to have received another letter from Dart. It is the last one he mailed from Panama, so she expects another lapse in mail soon. Still, with the bounty of letters she’s received this week, she promises not to complain for at least a few days. She’s distressed to hear there’s been no mail for him, but she can assure him there’ll be quite a stack when he gets to San Diego.

There have been some changes at 402 E. Summit St. today. Janie moved out of the room she shared with Mid, into the room occupied by Phyllis and Earla. That left Mid alone in a two-person space while Joyce, Ellie and Dot were crammed into a similar sized room. Joyce decided to move in with Mid, leaving Ellie and Dot to make big improvements to their space. She describes their efforts to move furniture, scrub and vacuum the place from top to bottom, and adding some decorative touches. “Wish you could see the room now. It doesn’t look remotely like that dismal mess that greeted me that dreary Wednesday in September. It’s by far the nicest room in the house. Ellie and I get along better than any two other people in the house. It’s positively amazing!” (Bear in mind, that Dot and Ellie clashed in the early days at Kent, but now Dot seems to get along well with everyone in the house, a trait she carries with her even today.)

There’s good news for Ellie, too. Tip called her today to say he’s going to her hometown in Pennsylvania this weekend to visit his cousin and wants her to drive over with him. Everyone’s opinion of Tip has soared since it appears that he really does like Ellie. Since Ellie has fallen so hard for Tip, she’s much more patient with Dot’s constant prattle about Dart.

She shares some news from Greenwich by way of her mother’s letter: the new Bendix washing machine is happily humming in the kitchen and Arthur Chamberlain seems to be fully recovered from his terrible cold, although there was no specific mention of his deafness.

She must be off to bed so she can be well rested when she makes a fool of herself, jumping around in modern dance class tomorrow. She enclosed a pamphlet with a photo of “Candlelight” silver and asks for his honest opinion. He must have liked it, because that’s the sterling pattern that we grew up with.