I love how Dart has taken to writing the countdown to the wedding under the date on every letter he writes. By his calculations, it’s now 66 days until the big event.
He hopes she isn’t expecting a big letter tonight because he simply doesn’t have the time to write one.
Although he probably didn’t write his prediction of his grade on his recent journalism test, he got exactly what he thought he would – an 85%. That’s a B, and of course he’s not happy about it. He was sick for several days before the test and missed a lot of the material presented in class, but that’s no excuse in his mind.
He got her nice little note on pretty paper today, telling him of Dot’s walk with Nancy Clapp. Gee, he wishes he could have been there for that. Since he hasn’t heard anything yet about the dance chaperone job, he assumes she didn’t take it.
Now he’s waiting to hear about her new job collecting data for the town directory. He used to hate canvassing for the Plain Dealer when he was a kid, but he’s sure Dot will meet some nice people on her walks through Greenwich.
From recent news in Cleveland, it looks like the phone company strikers are facing a long, hard battle. He doubts that even Mr. Truman will intervene. In Cleveland, coin phones are no longer working because there’s no one to collect the nickles from them. Once the phones are so full they can’t take any more coins, they sit mutely in their booths.
He asks her if there’s anything specific they’d like to have from his folks as a wedding present. He’s wondering about a table-top phonograph or an electric toaster. His mom has been hinting a lot lately, and he thinks she’s leaning toward a more comfortable chair for their little apartment.
His mother bought the fabric for the dress she’s going to wear to the wedding, and it’s very pretty. I’ll bet she’s getting very excited about the prospect of attending her oldest son’s wedding. She may even harbor a secret delight in having to travel to a distant location, despite her husband’s dislike of travel and meeting strangers.
There’s still much to do on his daily schedule, so he must leave this letter here. He fills the bottom third of the last page with “I LOVE YOU!” written in red crayon.
# # #
Dot warns this will be a quickie letter. Although she loves her new job, walking seven hours a day leaves her with little energy for anything else. Since coming home, she’s already cleaned the kitchen, washed her hair and written a long-over due letter to Columbia.
From her last telephone company check, she can afford to send him $3.00 for their penny account, bringing their total to $85.00. That leaves $15.00 to go for their goal and 66 days to find it.
“This was certainly a gorgeous day to be outside. I’m working on the streets just off Valleywood Rd. where Harriet and George live. There are loads of happy, smiling kids in that neighborhood and almost as many barking, playful dogs. It’s a joy to work where the surroundings seem so much like the idealized America. Kids with muddy shoes, dirty knees and faces, and lacking a couple of teeth are my idea of real, unadulterated happiness. But they are so eager to learn what life is all about that they don’t stay that way for long. I wish that someday I could found a home for kids and make them feel as good as they make me feel when I’m around them.”
On the back side of page 1, she writes “Guess the only reason you turned this over was to see what was on the other side. Nothin’, ‘cept I love you more powerful every day. “