Well, Dart’s letter begins innocuously enough. He and Al had a flat tire on the way home from Kent; they stopped on a bridge to take a picture of a train; they made a detour to Aurora Lake to watch the little fishing boats; they saw a cute newborn colt in a meadow they passed. But then, it steams up considerably.

There is an intense intimacy in this letter, and yet it speaks of a universal reality.  Dart, as only he can do, discusses and examines an incident that happened between him and Dot with almost scientific curiosity, mixed with his natural poetic tenancies.

There was a time late last evening when they crossed a self-imposed line. Dart recounts all the times leading up to that moment when either, or both, of them could have stopped the progression of events and were either unable, or unwilling, to do so. The incident he refers to was, by almost anyone’s standards but their own, a surprisingly innocent action. Dart admits to feeling shame, but no guilt. Still, he carefully crafts a plan to prevent them from going there, or further before they are married.

He sums up his plan with  “If we don’t both make a concerted effort to prevent things from becoming uncontrollable, they’ll get beyond our control entirely. No matter how much we want to go further, that must wait until we are married. Perhaps we are already married in the eyes of God. But we are not in the eyes of the laws, and of our neighbors, and has not God been the guidance of those laws? Probably we are more married now than a lot of people who have a little scroll to prove they have a legal right to the gratification of their lusts. …It seems to me that everything…we’ve done has been done out of sheer passionate desire to become one in body, as well as in spirit. That, Darling, is love, surely. Not all of love, but a part of that vast and complex emotion.”

He also thanks her for not doing a particular thing that he asked for but that she didn’t want to do. “When we do things, it must be a strong desire in both of us that moves us.”

“Our courtship has come normally, step by step, with nothing out of place, ever since it started. It has been half-ignorant of us to think we could arrest its progress for one whole year. If we could be married this summer, Dot, I’d want it to be tomorrow. ”

He will see her next week on Saturday instead of Friday. By then he hopes to have word from Cleveland College about his acceptance. Even though it is not the school he’d hoped to attend, he is intensely eager to get in there and started back on track with his education.

How he misses her while they’re apart! “I’ve missed you so much today that every so often, I just put my head in my hands and dream, wishing you were here.” He recalls some of their long walks through Cleveland, and imagines their future walks together.

“Good  night, Dear Dorothy. You are always in my heart.  I love you incessantly.”

#          #          #

Dot begins, “Before I fill this letter with my usual trash, I want to make it perfectly clear that I love you with all my heart and soul and mind. I want to be with you 24 hours a day. I want to look into your penetrating brown eyes and I want to see your winsome smile. I want to squeeze you until our bodies throb as one and out hearts beat in unison. I want you to want me and love me as much as I do you, forever and ever.”

She found out his morning that if Dart were going to attend Kent this summer, he could live in her house and in her very room! (Of course, she wouldn’t be in it!) Miss Olin has confirmed that they will be renting to male students only, and she wishes Dart were one of them.

Dot can’t understand what Dart’s reservations are about Kent, other than the fact that it’s not in Cleveland. They have a renowned journalism program, and they are happy to accept students who have had “deficiencies.” If he doesn’t get into Cleveland College, wouldn’t Kent be worth a try?

He was quite right about that crazy letter he wrote. (Peterson’s Wall elixir) She loves that he has a nutty streak. He makes her feel right at home when he pulls some of that silly stuff.

She wonders if Homer might be interested in a date with Phyll, who at 5′ 9″ may be tall enough for him. The truth is, she’s getting pretty tired of spending her dates with Al just necking all the time. She’s trying to act cool toward him, but he’s not taking the hint. This week starts the campus production of “No Time for Classes,” and if Homer is interested, Phyll would love to attend with him.

“I was a lot happier last night at this time, but we should have done then what I’m going to do now – stop this and get some sleep.” (It looks like she’s taking their escapade last night a little less dramatically than her fiance did.)