It was a beautiful day in Cleveland, made even more so by the arrival of Dot’s nice letter from Monday, complete with a big kiss inside the envelope.

It’s 4:00 AM, but Dart still has schoolwork to do. He acknowledges that his typing looks like he could use some sleep, but he feels like working a little longer.

He’s quite certain he flunked a Spanish test today. “I’ll insult the guy you picked to marry by calling him a lazy, stupid bum. I hope you don’t eventually come to the same conclusion.”

He fears his late night typing wakes up the other people in his house, even though they won’t admit it.

No time now to answer her letter; he has a bug to do a little prose workshop homework.

#          #          #

Dot’s letter today begins in an unfamiliar handwriting. Turns out, Dot asked Nancy to entertain Dart while she finished setting her hair. Nancy chats on for a couple of pages about her job as a nurse and how excited Dot’s getting about that big day in June. She reminds Dart that she hopes to fly out to Ohio in September for a visit with the newlyweds.

Then Dot takes over at the very bottom of page two. There she writes that she’ll have to continue on page three, but doesn’t want to wait that long to tell Dart how much she loves him. So she tells him how much she loves him before turning the page.

She hadn’t thought much about a gift for Eleanor and Norm, but when she asked El, her sister said that since they’ll be living at first in the Chamberlain home, they don’t need much, nor do they want to store a lot of things. She suggested cash was the most practical idea. Dot assures Dart that El is completely aware of their tight finances, so any cash gift, no matter how small, would be appreciated and appropriate.

To be frank, she’d given no thought at all to dishes. She opposes ornate patterns and thinks any simple pattern would work well with their flatware.

Has Dart thought any more about his gifts for his ushers? Norman is giving his guys monogrammed tie clips. If Dart wanted to do the same for his ushers, Norman would give him a discount from  his shop.

Dot has been busy today. Before work, she cleaned the kitchen. This evening she cleaned her room, bathed and washed  her hair. “Boy to I feel pure! My cleanliness is exceeded only by my striking beauty.”

“This job of mine sure takes me to some gruesome holes in the wall. Some of the places make me sick, they’re so filthy. On the other hand, I see some very cute, neat little  houses I fall in love with. I bet I walked 10 miles today. No wonder I’m so tired!”

Dart finally had a successful run of shopping, buying a sport shirt, a dress shirt, and another belt. He declares them all “real nice.”

Last night, he worked at his little desk until 5:00 AM, going to bed just as the sun was rising. Somehow he managed to wake up at the time he needed to without the use of an alarm clock. While he doesn’t trust himself to do that every day, it was nice to wake up naturally.

He finally got around to handing in a missing piece for prose workshop. It was a travel item about the island of Ulithi. If I recall correctly, that was the little place he visited a few times during the war – a dot in the Pacific used by the Navy for brief shore leaves. He had written a charming description of the place to Dot once, without naming it, of course. Anyway, he says the piece he handed in was not good, but it nearly brings him up to date on his missed assignments for that class.

There was something about Dot’s last letter that makes him miss her even more. “Things around here have not been too joyful recently, either. Mother’s just driving herself to the limit, yet neither nothing Pop or I try to do is what she wants, so nothing gets done. Pop can’t eat his own cooking and neither of us can plan meals. Oh, we’re making out alright, but but it’s a heavy strain on all of us.”

He hates to think of her crying so much that night she wrote about and wishes with everything in him that he could comfort her in person. He’s upset about the conditions around her home that she hinted at in her letter. “Those extremely tight family attachments sure make it tough when one feels like telling the family where to go, or when the beloved family hurts so much.”

“Don’t you know that one of the few things a husband’s good for is giving comfort to the wife when she’s feeling punk? There wasn’t anything to forgive you for in that letter, but if you want me to forgive you, I’ll do it anyway.”

The rest of this letter is so tender and intimate that I’ll not share details of it here. I hope Mom will go to her storage closet and retrieve the original letter from her file to read Dad’s words in his own hand. In case her memory has faded a bit, this letter will bring the power of Dart’s passion back in all it’s poetic splendor.

#          #          #

As much as Dot likes to have a chance to write Dart a long letter, she’s not too keen about how the opportunity presented itself. She no sooner got off the bus at Cos Cob where she’s still working, then she had a “queer and uncomfortable feeling.” She went to Harriet’s house, which fortunately was quite nearby, and discovered her “country cousin had paid a belated visit.”

“Not wanting to be stranded in the middle of nowhere like the last rose of summer, I decided to come back to Greenwich with Harriet. It was a wise move, I guess, cuz’ I fainted shortly after I got upstairs. I feel much better now because I ‘slept’ through the worst part. Mom says the moving of furniture, the hot bath and the long walk yesterday didn’t help things any. Someday I’ll learn. You realize, of course, that this makes June 20 a red-letter day in more ways than one. I’d be scared to death if i were marrying any other person than you, Darling. You can’t imagine how very grateful I am for having such a thoughtful, understanding fiance’ – soon to be my husband. Oh happy day!”

A letter from Columbia arrived today, and her friend is very excited about her big trip way out to Greenwich. “Clum’s” excitement has stirred up even more excitement in Dot. If Dart expects her to keep him calm during those final days before the wedding, he’s got a big surprise coming!

She’s enclosing a photo of the bridesmaids’ dresses for  his mother’s perusal. Her own mother has acquired a beautiful dress from her Wellesley friend Bonnie Dunbar, and Aunt Florence made alterations last week. It’s a lovely coral which sets off her hair and eyes beautifully. Dot suspects that the mothers of the couple will steal the show, but “as long as I get legally ‘hitched’ to you, who cares?”

Dot just had a visit from the sweetest little girl in the world – her five-month-old niece Gretchen. She hopes the baby won’t lose all her cuteness by the time Dart meets her, but that’s not likely to happen, seeing as that cuteness is contained in 20 pounds of baby chubbiness. A 20-pound five-month-old? Wowzer!

With every day that passes, Dot is more grateful for her decision to quit the telephone company at the beginning of the strike. It’s been three weeks now and she knows of several girls who have had to quit to find other jobs. Vacations are nice, but not the unpaid, indefinite kind.

She doesn’t know what to say about a gift from  his folks. She thinks a phonograph would be nice, but too expensive. She has no idea what a toaster or a new chair would cost. Maybe prices will drop by mid-summer, but she doubts it.

Her father went to an auction last night and bought an antique walnut dresser. He thinks that’ll give him enough walnut to finish making her cedar chest that he started for Christmas. Walnut lumber has been unavailable, so this seemed like the best way to get the project done. He already used an old bed of Grandma’s to make Eleanor’s chest. Such a resourceful man!

It sounds like Dart’s railroad is really advancing, and she can’t wait to see it. She was visiting the model railroad of Betty & Gordon’s neighbor Mr. Cox and noticed his is 00 gauge. Isn’t that the same size as Homer’s tiny layout?

She still has some letters to answer, but she won’t do them tonight. She sure could use one of his comforting back rubs, though, to put her to sleep. How about a date for a back rub eight weeks from tomorrow night?

Dart had hoped to buy both a new suit and a sport coat with trousers, but he settled on a new plan today. He bought a swell new sport coat and several pairs of trousers. The suit will have to wait for another time. The beautiful camel hair jacket is hanging in his closet with tags attached to prevent him from wearing it before his trip east in just eight weeks.

His dentist, Dr. O’Leary, filled two holes in Dart’s head today. Dart likes him, and was pleased to learn that Dr. O’Leary is happy to fit another Peterson into his schedule when the need arises after June.

The staff meeting tonight was a pleasant one. They accepted very few submissions for publication, but Dart’s  character sketch of Mr. Schmidt was accepted in it’s re-written form.

“I haven’t answered your letter with the kiss in it yet. I guess I can’t do a proper job of answering the kiss until I get a little more response than just kissing lips on paper brings. When I close my eyes and put a couple of fingers behind the lip marks, I can almost feel our bodies pressing hungrily together.”

He’s quite impressed with their growing pile of gifts she writes about, and asks her to thank Aunt Edna for him. “I’m anxious to get double use out of those double sheets. (Double meaning there, but don’t double up over it, except with me,)”

He assumes she still has her job after  she quit working in the rain. He sure doesn’t blame her for not wanting to continue working in sloshy clothes.

“Sometimes after letters like last night’s are mailed, I think about how lonesome they make you, and wish I hadn’t mailed them. I don’t want to deliberately make you blue. I love you too much for that.”

#          #          #

Dot’s small, neat handwriting certainly allows her to squeeze a lot of news into a four-page letter!

As delighted as she is that time before the wedding is moving at a rapid pace, she fears there’ll be too little time to whip the house into shape before the big day. “I fear it will be another case of the painters leaving by the back door as the guests are arriving at the front door. That actually happened at Harriet’s wedding!” (Except in today’s case, the “painters” are both brides and one of the grooms!)

She awoke today feeling punk, and the weather was pretty much the same. Although she might have pushed herself to go to work, her mother felt it would be unwise for her to walk around all day in the rain. Even though she didn’t earn any cash today, she didn’t waste her time. She made two sets of curtains for the living room. She realizes she promised Dart she’d make curtains for their apartment, but since there’s no reception scheduled to happen there any time soon,  does he mind too much if she sews for 115 Mason Street first?

She needs to check with Dr. Knowlton today to confirm that Connecticut will accept blood test from Ohio for use on a marriage license. If they don’t, Dart will have to get to Greenwich 10 days prior to the wedding. She can’t understand how Betty and Gordon decided on a Thursday to marry on Saturday, and were able to get it all done legally. She’ll let him know what she finds out about the blood tests.

Today Mrs. Vessie gave Dot and Eleanor a copy of “The Brides’ Magazine.” She also told the girls not to think the gifts she’s already given them are wedding gifts; she wouldn’t dream of excluding the grooms like that. She’s an artist, and she plans to paint a portrait of each bride to give to her groom as a wedding gift. Dot has no idea when either bride will have time to sit for a portrait between now and June 20, but she’ll let Mrs. Vessie worry about that!

“By the way, darling, there was an article in the magazine that I thought might interest you. “A Gift for the Bride” – Why not give her a string of pearls, a town car, a diamond wrist watch or some jeweled clips? Yes, why not? To save you the trouble of trying to decide which of that list you should give me, let me inform you now that the town car would be fine. Think you could manage to squeeze that out of your budget? Oh, I forgot to mention that the article began ‘If money is no object.’ But when there is no money, there can be no object. We’ll let it go this time, but let me warn you, young man, by the next time you get married, I want you to have sufficient funds to give your bride at least a diamond wrist watch!” She likes how the magazine caters to those in the lower income brackets with their budget-conscious choices like diamond watches.

She continues, “Golly, life must be an awful bore to those young couples who start out already owning a town car. By the time they work their way up to a city car, what thrill is left? I mean, how many cars you need?”

Why doesn’t she keep her job right up to the last day?! She’ll tell him why. First, the canvassing will be done before then. Second, his parents will be in town and she wants to spend as much time with them as possible. “And in the third place, I just plain don’t want to in the first place.”

She asks Dart to make two promises: First, that he won’t write to her during exam week, other than maybe a postcard to say he’s still alive. Second, that he will not talk about his grades on their honeymoon. She hates to hear him run himself down with dire predictions of failure. These seem like reasonable requests to me.

Norman has moved in with the Chamberlains temporarily. His roommate/nephew has contracted the measles, and Norm was looking for a safe haven.

There’s a cool spring breeze coming through her window and she’d love nothing more than to lie in his arms as they drift off to sleep amid a symphony of nature’s sounds.

Dart’s mood today is more playful and flirtatious than passionate. He mocks himself because he picked the best woman in the world to be his wife, and now he’s ungrateful because he has to wait so long to make her his wife.

He does a long riff about all the ways he’d like to hold her: squeezing tight with her head on his shoulder; wrapped in each other’s arms, rocking back and forth; behind her as she brushes her hair; at arm’s length as they gaze into each other’s eyes; her arms around his neck as she sits on his lap.

“I hope we’ll always want to walk holding hands, or brushing elbows, or entwining little fingers. I want to be with you, Dot, to talk with you. Not about anything in particular tonight, but just to talk and  hold you. Remember how we like to talk while caressing?”

He asks her if neither Hal nor Homer is able to make it to the wedding, would Doug or Gordon be able to stand up for him? If not, he could ask Al Forbush, although they have little in common. He’ll get another letter off to Hal very soon.

In a continuation of his earlier shopping frenzy, he just bought what may be his wedding night pajamas. They’re very nice, and he’s keeping them wrapped and out of sight until June 20.

He agrees that money is the best gift for El and Norm, but the question now is, how much? Also, does Dot have any idea how much Norman’s tie clip gifts cost? He needs to add that to his pre-wedding budget.

“Come on, honey. Let’s quit this foolin’ around and go to bed. Last one there has to get up and close the window in the morning. Now let’s cuddle up and talk ourselves to sleep.”

#          #          #

It’s 2:00 in the morning and Dot has been babysitting for Carter Ford. She had a piece of Harriet’s birthday cake, set her hair and moved all the clocks in the house forward one  hour in preparation for Daylight Savings Time. She really wants to get to bed because she’s picking Nancy up for church tomorrow.

She didn’t write while babysitting because she was hemming a dress she bought today. It’s about the same shade of blue as the stationery she’s using with a patch of brown down the front. She really hopes Dart likes it as much as she does because he’s the one she tries to dress to please.

She got a thank you note for her thank you note from Mrs. Vessie today. Fearing this pattern could go on forever, she has decided to be sensible and not write Mrs. Vessie a thank you for the thank you for her thank you.

Realizing that last statement proved how tired she is, she signed off with a giant “I LOVE YOU!!!”

Dart says he should have made notes during the day because he thought of so many things to write to her, but now he can’t remember any of them. I guess that’s  a casualty of trying to write in the wee hours of the morning.

His biggest concern in this letter is the question of whether he should accept an invitation to teach a Sunday school class of 12-year-old boys next fall. He’d like to try that challenge, but there are a couple of negatives; first, it would take time away from Dot in the early months of their marriage, and second, the class meets at the same time as church service, so he would miss listening to Mr. Kershner’s sermons with Dot. He asks Dot for her opinion of what his response should be to this request.

His frantic feeling is returning. “The work ahead, and the work I’ve neglected, looks like a big, black wall. I don’t like pressure, and the way I react to it sure leaves a lot lacking.”

His pockets contain just 65 cents to sustain him until Wednesday. Well, he’s done it before, so he knows he can do it again. Nothing like a little temporary poverty to add to the pressure he’s already feeling. He’s happy for Dot that the federal government managed to return $50.60 to her. He’s heard rumors that it’s nice to have money.

Dot shouldn’t worry about writing downhearted letters. He was reading recently that a lot of engaged couples experience rocky times during the last few months before the wedding, but things usually work out.

It was nice of Nancy to write him a letter to enclose with one of Dot’s, but it made him feel even more strongly that he has the best girl in the world.  “Your letters seem so much more adult and natural and unaffected.”

Regarding the blanket she left here in January: Should it be returned to her mother or shall they keep it in Cleveland for Dot to use?

And finally, it’s time for sleep.

#          #          #

Hours ago, Dot came upstairs to tidy up her room, but she hasn’t made much progress. Her mother had asked her to go through the storage closet and root out things she didn’t want to keep any longer. Dot got distracted trying on all her old formal gowns and wondering if she’ll ever have any need of one in the future. She regrets that she and Dart missed all their chances to attend a formal affair.

When trying on her new dress to show her mother this morning, she decided that she didn’t shorten it enough last night, despite what the fashion pages would dictate. Today, she ripped out the hem she did last night and turned the dress up another inch. She’s far more satisfied with the results.

While canvassing yesterday, she came to the tiny street where Betty and Gordon live. She spoke to their neighbor, Mr. Cox, about his train layout. He told her it was really his son Bill’s train. Just as Dot was trying to recall how she knew that name, Bill Cox himself arrived at home. “Suddenly, it struck me. Bill was in grammar school with me and I despised him with a purple passion. …If it’s all the same to you, I think I won’t even try to find out more about his trains.”

Nancy went to church with Dot today. She’d never been inside it before, and when she saw the length of the aisle she’ll be walking as a bridesmaid, she made an audible gulp. That got Dot to thinking that maybe Dart had better meet her (Dot) halfway or she’ll never make it to the altar.

She’s sure her Uncle Ralph will be making cracks during the whole long walk down the aisle. When he visited the Chamberlain house today, Dot, El, and Nancy were cleaning up the kitchen. Before leaving, Ralph poked his head into the kitchen and said “Good-night, ladies. Oh, and good-night to you, too, Dot.” She feels so loved.

She asks Dart if he often gets the bug to do his prose assignments at 4:00 in the morning, like he did earlier this week. She’s not sure she likes that idea so much, especially if she’s the one who must supply him with sandwiches and coffee!

Will they start sleeping on the third floor as soon as they return from their honeymoon? Has Kathleen been told that she’ll have to move out? Dot thinks the poor girl needs to have plenty of time to find some other place to live.

A long time ago, Dot made out a draft budget for them. She left Dart’s PD earnings off, just so he could have a little money to call his own. Now as she looks at that budget again, she thinks she might have missed some things. Will Dart show the enclosed copy to his mother to see what she thinks. He should feel free to let her know that she’s more interested in subtracting expenses than adding them.

Her ring is sparkling like mad tonight. It always seems to sparkle more when she’s missing him the most. She’s living now for the day when that ring will have a plain gold one snuggled up next to it. Just think, on May 1st, they’ll be able to say they’re getting married next month!

Now that it’s almost over, she’s glad they had such a long engagement. They’ve had the gift of time to build their dreams and anticipate the joy of being Mr. and Mrs. “We’re a lucky pair, Dart. I hope we can remind each other of that if there’s ever a time when we begin to doubt it.”

Dart has the most recent Skyline all addressed and ready to mail. He tucked the picture of the bridesmaids’ dress in between the pages for safe keeping. His mother thinks the dresses will be very pretty.

He has calculated that her “visitor” came six weeks after her previous one, which has been her consistent timing for a while now. That means  she should be clear on June 20, since that’s about 7 weeks away.

He’s interested in the fact that nearly everything she does prior to her period starting has been blamed for the terrible ordeal she goes through. Hot baths and cold baths are both to blame, as is too much exercise and too little of same. He guesses the cold drink he nearly forced down her gullet that night at the concert might also have been a culprit. Whatever the cause, he’s glad that she trust him to provide her with some comfort during those tough times.

He ran into Dr. Wallen of the streetcar  who asked about Dart’s marriage plans. Then he told Dart that chances for a successful marriage were better if they started out with a place of their own, rather than sharing a place with his parents. Dart is determined to get them their own apartment at the earliest possible time.

His buddy John Downing, the telephone company worker, reports that the picket line at his exchange has become very thin these days as more and more strikers leave to find jobs. John himself has had to pick up a part-time job.

His folks are thinking about china as a wedding gift, but Dart hesitates to ask them for anything too expensive. In any case, his Uncle Ed has given Helen and Dart, Sr. a check to cover the cost of their trip to Greenwich. Dart is so grateful because he knows of no other way they could afford it.

Dot will not be required to take another driver’s test when she moves to Ohio. In fact, this state is so lax that they’ll give a license to anyone of the proper age who has a pulse.

He gives an enthusiastic thumbs up to the back rub seven weeks and three days from now.

Seems like everyone has something to say about his wedding plans. Prof. Thompson cornered him at church this week to inquire about them. He also said that having a wife would likely cut into his study time, but he would likely study better once he’s married. Hmmmm.

“Do you realize that just two years ago tonight I was sleeping on an ammunition-ready box on the Haggard, with my feet in the water that was washing over the deck as we lay crippled and drifting in the wind? That was a trying afternoon and evening. It seems years ago in some respects, yet no longer than a few weeks in others.”

He tells her not to strain over curtains for their apartment. If they’re not hanging when they first move in, it’s no crime. Maybe they’ll have a chance to discuss more modern window dressings if they have a little time to think it over.

She mustn’t forget to ask Dr. Knowlton about the blood tests. He’d hate to arrive in Greenwich to learn he couldn’t marry her on their chosen day. He asks if she thinks Dr. K. would be a good person to have their pre-marital conversation with about sex.

He won’t promise not to write her during exam week, but he may not anyway. Also, he plans to get all of his stewing about grades over with during their days before the wedding, and he promises he won’t discuss them on the honeymoon.

Saying it is one of those warm “huggy” Spring nights, he wishes her good night. Then he asks how long she thinks it’ll take them to learn how to sleep in each other’s arms.

#          #          #

Dot firmly believes she walked 15 miles today and her feet just can’t take any more!

She encloses some Easter pictures taken by Nancy. Dot thinks her photos look the same as the last two years because she’s wearing the same dress. The only difference is the color of her corsage, which is difficult to discern in a black and white photograph. Referring to a close-up of her, she quips, “Get a load of that crooked smile. Must be I sleep on the wrong side of my face.”

Mrs. Pecsok told her yesterday that Chuckie may not be able to serve as ring bearer for the wedding. It seems Mr. Pecsok has a business conference in Cleveland that week, and he’d like to take the whole family with him as a vacation. She doesn’t begrudge them a family vacation, but she’ll be terribly disappointed if Chuckie isn’t in the wedding.

Doug would be thrilled to be an usher, and Gordon also, but he’d never say so. Dot just wishes Dart would hurry up and get a commitment from either Hal or Homer. It is, after all only seven weeks away.

She loved his letter of Saturday night because of all the memories it brought up. “I feel all sorts of queer sensations in my stomach. Some of them come from the thrill I get remember all the fun we’ve had together, and the others come from thinking how soon it will be when we can do them all again.

She wants to know what color his new pajamas are so she can lie down and pretend to be looking into his bright eyes.

“The difference between your having daylight saving time and our not having it must be the difference of a day in the letter schedules. At any rate, for two days now I’ve received letters in the afternoon mailed before 2:30 in the afternoon the day before. Pretty good service for a bureaucratic, understaffed post office, isn’t it?”

Both his subsistence check and his PD paycheck arrived today. If he subtracts the $12.00 he owes in bills, and ignores the jar full of pennies on his bookcase, the net gain for the month of April in three bank accounts, cash, and checks is nearly $26.00. He’s pretty darned excited that their total assets total $422.99, even after all the clothing he’s been buying!

After removing wedding and honeymoon expenses, he thinks they’ll be able to open their joint account with about $250.00. His mother warns that it will take more money than he imagines to set up housekeeping, but that’s a higher total than he ever dreamed they’d have. I don’t think he’s counting cash wedding gifts or Dot’s savings into any of his calculations.

He had a whopper of a test in psychology and was “given” a 76% in Spanish. He has a D in that class, which is unacceptable, but he doesn’t know how he’ll bring it up.

In 25 minutes, they can say the wedding is next month. It’s been so much fun being engaged to her, but he’s mighty happy to see those days coming to and end!

#          #          #

The ferocious Spring thunderstorm outside her window makes Dot wish she and Dart were watching such an exhibit from the porch at Sunapee, wrapped in each other’s arms. She hopes they’ll have one stormy night at the lake during their honeymoon.

Today, her boss sent her to the town hall to copy down the names of all the town residents over the age of 19 who have died since 1945. It’s the same building that houses the marriage license office, so she stopped in to learn what Dart has to do about blood tests. He should ask his Cleveland doctor to send his blood sample to the official state laboratory (there’s just one in every state), accompanied by a Connecticut Marriage License Blood Test form. That will save him time and money when he gets to Greenwich.

She doesn’t feel that she should answer the question about whether Dart takes on that Sunday school class. She’s very proud that he was asked, and she thinks he’d make a great teacher of young boys, but he’d also make a fine worship companion for her. After she’s learned the ropes of the church and has settled in a bit, she was thinking about joining the choir, if they need new members. “Notice I didn’t say ‘singers,'” she quips. In short, he should do what feels right to him.

The blanket he inquired about had been her mother’s, but she thinks it’s theirs now, especially after she pleads her case to her mother. In spite of   how much they love each other, she thinks they’ll need more than one blanket to keep warm in that cold attic apartment.

They now have a complete set of their silver-plated flatware. She asks that he not stop sending her box tops because Harriet, Andy, and Nancy have all decided to get themselves a set and she’d like to help them out.

Their sterling set is also growing. Aunt Mil and Uncle Ralph have completed the place setting that Jane started, and Aunt Ethyl and Uncle Bill are giving them a place setting. “Aren’t we the lucky ones, though? We don’t have much cause to complain, do we, Darling?”

Much to everyone’s surprise, the canvassing work in Greenwich will be done by a week from Saturday. She’d been hoping to work up until early June, but now she’ll have to hope for lots of babysitting jobs to keep the coffers full. “I still have several things to get that cost money.”

“We’ve got to make a decision about one thing before you come here in June. What are we going to do with the hundreds of letters we’ve collected during the 3-1/2 years we’ve been corresponding.  I can’t bear to throw yours out and yet I have no idea how I would get them to Ohio, or what I would do with them once I got them there. Please come through with a brilliant suggestion of some kind.”

She’s so excited that he’ll be there in about six weeks! “Be sure to bring some old clothes with you ‘cuz you’ll be put to work that week before the wedding – like it or not. With all there is to do, we have no respect for guests. They’ll have to work just like the rest of us.”

She knows Dart is tired, so she suggests he turn over and let her give the back rub for a change.