If I had not seen the handwriting with my own eyes, I would have thought that the opening paragraph of Dart’s letter today was penned by someone else. It was entirely about Bobby Feller’s no-hitter against the Yankees. I think this letter stands as the only time Dart wrote about the subject of sports in a seemingly informed manner. He had a lot  to say about how much better Feller’s record would be if he only had decent hitting, running and fielding to back him up! Reading this might give one the impression that he gave a fig about baseball.

He bought six tickets for “Life With Father” today and thinks they look like pretty good seats. He thought he’d ask Al if his sister and her fiance could join the group on Friday to take Homer and Jane’s places. He hopes it wasn’t too presumptuous for him to try to fill in the empty seats.

He was the only leader tonight at the Hi-Y meeting. It all went well and he gave a brief talk about highway safety for the benefit of the boys who will be driving soon.

On his way home from the meeting he stopped by Fred’s house for a visit. They had a nice talk until Mather showed up and went on his one-track conversation about sex.

He wraps up the short letter with “Oh heck, I’m too low and lonely to write a letter. I wish we were married. I hope we can find good friends when we are.”

#          #          #

Dot begins “Before you waste any more time reading this letter let me advise you now to put your time to better use.”

She’s the only girl in the house who doesn’t have a date tonight, unless you count her date with the iron. When she came home this evening, the porch swing, both sofas and the stairs were all filled with amorous couples.

Tomorrow she’s going into Akron to try and find a dress and some shoes – if her meager savings holds out. It’s taken her three weeks to save $26 dollars, and as soon as her shopping spree is over she must begin saving for summer school tuition. “There’s always something!”

By the time he gets this letter on Friday morning, there will be a mere six hours until they see each other! She hopes they’ll have a chance for more intimate conversation than they’ve had in the past on double dates. She would love to spend the whole weekend in Cleveland, if it didn’t cost her her job.

Dot typed 52 words on her typing test today, but had a few mistakes. To ace the final she must do 30 wpm with no more than two errors. It sure would help her GPA if she can score an A on that exam.

Now she must write to her mother and finish her ironing, so she bids Dart good night.

Dart’s brief note follows.

Just thought I’d surprise you with a little note. I’m so lonesome I feel like going right back down to Kent. The trip back was uneventful. Stopped for a burger and a cup of coffee (?) * at Stow. Why bother with such trivia when I have room to say I love you? That’s what I’ve wanted to say since I told you good night in front of Miss Olin. What was on the package and what was written on the front of it? Couldn’t figger it our myself, could you?

Oh Dot, I miss you so much! Thirteen months seems so long to look forward to!

Good night, my Dearest. Thank you. Yours forever, Dart

*That’s what they said the vile stuff was.

#          #          #

And now it’s Dot’s turn.

This may come as somewhat of a surprise Tuesday morning, but I’m too much in love and miss you too much already to go to sleep without writing to you.

First, some big news. Harriet’s letter asked us not to plan on getting married next fall on accountin’ she wants to lend a big hand in the festivities when the time comes, but if it comes then, she’ll be too busy taking care of the new addition to their family.  I surely hope everything goes alright with her this time. I think another miscarriage would almost kill her.

I’ve been talking with Phyll, who is so bleary-eyed, she doesn’t know from nuttin’. She thinks she’s got a case on Al. It seems he made a date to come down next Friday and take her to a movie in Akron. He suggested bringing you along, too. So if you want to come, and if you don’t have another date, how’s about it? S’pose between the two of you you could convince Homer that there are really lots of short girls who are loads of fun? Joyce, for instance?

Darling, I’m very tired, but I’ll lay here for hours unable to sleep. You are all I want and I want you so desperately it’s dangerous. Today was one of the most perfect days I have ever experienced with you. I have never felt the way I did when we were at the lake this afternoon. We seemed completely apart from the rest of the world, and yet so completely together. There is something about surging surf that is mysterious and haunting. I have sometimes had a weird feeling when standing alone on the shore that the water was challenging me, that it was calling to me to attempt to swim it, knowing full well that it could soon overpower me. When I first saw the lake today, that feeling arose in me again and it frightened me a little. But as soon as I felt your arms around me, the feeling vanished. I can’t describe the security I feel every time you touch me, but it’s there, bigger and more powerful than anyone or anything.

Thank you, Dart, for giving me that sense of security and for being exactly what you are. Everything you do deepens my already deep love for you. There aren’t enough ways to show my love, gratitude and admiration for you. All I ask is that I’m given the opportunity to show at least a few of the ways I’m grateful for you. I love you always and forever.

Dart writes that he misses Dot so much that he can’t recall any other time when he wanted her near him as much as he wants it now.

He and his father spent all day on the kitchen-painting project. The walls are nearly done, and the place looks much brighter already. The cabinets, however are a nerve-wracking problem. They hope to have all their home improvement work done by the time Dot’s parents come out in June.

He offers some information about a meeting he had with an insurance agent today. He wants to carefully consider all his options before buying the right policy for them and their future family. He reminds her that she is foremost in his thoughts whenever topics like this come up.

A similar subject came up today. His folks told him about a number of large brick homes on Forest Hill Ave. that are coming up for sale. If the GI bill offers home loans as well as money for education, he would like for them to consider buying one of those grand old places. It was his parents’ suggestion that he and Dot could buy the house, his folks would rent some of it, and they could also rent out spare rooms to offset the loan payments. Meanwhile, Dart could finish the third floor as an apartment for them, and live there rent free. He asks Dot to consider the idea and make any comments or suggestions she has. “Think of the pride we could have in beginning our married life in a home that pays for itself! With no rent to pay, my $90 a month would go much farther toward being enough to live on.”

“Our problems can almost all be solved by insight, discussion, and inquiry. The problem of where and how to live until I’m out of school is perhaps the biggest of our immediate future.”

“I keep thinking of all the things we did  and the good times we had last weekend, and I’m all clogged up inside with love, admiration, adoration and love for you. Oh Darling, I don’t want to say good night, but I must.”

#          #          #

Dot’s letter is typically spirited today. It begins, “How’s the world been treating you today? I can’t complain about anything new, but I didn’t see you and that’s always hard to take.”

When she went into work today, Mrs. Grabbenstedder (her boss) greeted her with “Good evening, Dottie. Did you have a nice weekend? We missed you but we know how lonesome you must get, being so far away from home.” Dot was surprised, but pleased by such a warm welcome.  Then she went on to serve the men of Kappa Sigma Chi – a generous bunch who wolfed down their dinner in 45 minutes and left each girl a $1.15 tip.

She had a brainstorm tonight. When he and Al (and Homer?) come down on Friday night, maybe they could have dinner at Robin Hood. They could get a good meal for $ .40 and she and Phyll would give them great service. Then they could leave for their date at 7:00 and spend more time together.

She tells him what a good influence he is on her. Her room  has looked like the site of a major cyclone for weeks, but today, it all changed. She thought of what Dart would say if he ever saw that unholy mess, and she had an idea. “I’m going to pretend this is ‘our’ room, and I’m going to keep it as neat as a pin. I know it’ll do the trick, ‘cuz I couldn’t bear the thought of you having to come home to an untidy room, apartment, or shoe box, as the case may be.”

She had a date tonight with an “old friend.” She was so sick of talking to the girls in the house that she took herself into town and saw a movie called “A Sailor Takes a Wife,” with Robert Walker and June Allyson. “I walked myself home without even stopping to buy a hamburger. It was rather foggy, but the moon made an honest attempt to show its face from behind the clouds, which made a beautiful pattern in the sky. Even though I was alone physically, you were with me every minute, as you always are.”

“It’s time for a certain girl to hit the sack. She’s mighty tired and she knows you won’t mind if she puts down her pen and picks up her dreams where she left off last night. Consider yourself as thoroughly kissed as you were last night up on your bed. Gee, but I love you sumpin’ fierce!”

It’s a powerful opening paragraph that meets Dot’s eyes when she reads Dart’s letter from today. “One of the finest love letters – and incidentally, one of the nicest surprises I’ve ever had came today. It was the letter you wrote Sunday night. It was no longer than most of your letters, which proves that you don’t have to be as wordy as I am to write good letters.”

In response to the news that Harriet is pregnant, he sends hopes for a successful delivery this time, adding that the troubles she’s had in the past must weight heavily on her at times like this.

When he gave Homer Dot’s hint about there being plenty of short nice girls at Kent, he didn’t show too much enthusiasm for the idea. But speaking of Homer, he and Dart may pay her a surprise visit this week. Homer has his brother’s convertible now, and if it hadn’t been raining tonight, they would have taken a little cruise out to Kent.

Dart will be riding along with Al on Friday, and he’s looking forward to someone else doing the driving for a change. (I suspect he’s also looking forward to seeing Dot for a few hours, too.)

Having dispensed with the trivial, he returns to a little romance. “Darling, when you put your arms around me as we watched the lake, I too felt a new feeling, or at least a stronger surge of feeling than I’ve ever had before. That feeling that was strengthened and made solid was the knowledge that we will always be near and dear to each other, each depending on the other for our happiness, our inspiration, our security. Our bond is increasing with each hour we spend together.  I can’t write more than two words without dreaming about the future. I’ve never before made predictions like those in this paragraph, but now, Dot, it seemed that predictions were in order., so that my thoughts might be more fully expressed.”

“As I looked at you, sheer, uninhibited joy seemed radiant from the sunlit warmth of your smile. I was wrong about beauty, Dot. There was a beauty about you on Sunday that ranks quite equal with all my previous ideas. Beauty is in the work of God, and surely He must have been proud of you that afternoon, to show you to me in such a way. I know I was proud of you and there was no mortal there to see you or see my pride. I had no idea that you or I’d react that way, yet all day long, I felt myself and us being called to that spot. I’m glad I heeded that call, for it has turned out to be one of our Moments.”

He says that he too has felt the call of the waves as he’s stood on the shore, pulled, yet fearful, for he’s known he was no match for the power of the waves. “So many times you have described for me your feelings, and your description was an exact reproduction of my feelings at the same time. When you say the surf’s hold on you and your fears vanished when I held you close, you are saying what has been in my mind: That I was no longer spellbound by the Lake, but liberated and at once captivated by you, as we embraced there on the sand by the water’s edge.”

He dreams of planning a picnic with her some time at his Uncle Guy’s lake front lot. They could play in the water and build a fire on the beach for roasting hot dogs. But best of all, they’d be together, which is what he wants more than anything.

Back down on Earth now, he talks about some errands he needs to run tomorrow in order to get the kitchen paint job finished. Tonight, he and Homer saw “Bad Bascomb,” a western starring Wallace Berry and Margaret O’Brien. They both thought it was a good movie, and Dart thought little Miss O’Brien was awfully cute.

He thought her new pink dress that she wore last weekend was quite pretty and very becoming. He’s glad she decided to stay the whole weekend, and now hopes she still has a job.

He wishes his “Darling Sweetheart” a good night, and thanks her for a worthwhile life.

#          #          #

Dot thanks Dart for his surprise letter, written late Sunday night after his long drive back from Kent. The package that was awaiting her at the house contained some summer sandals, candy and gum from home.

She spent three  hours cleaning her room and it looks great. She wonders how long she can keep it this way.

All the girls are at a party at the sorority house, giving her time to study in silence. She has both a biology and a history mid-term tomorrow.

“Ilove you always, and all ways, Dart. Thank you for being all that you are and for doing all that you do to make me the happiest girl in the world.”

Dart feels guilty about all the unanswered letters on his desk from people other than Dot. The only one he is inspired to write to is her.

Hi-Y was uneventful tonight. He came straight home and worked on his yellow railroad car in the basement for awhile. He thinks it runs a little more smoothly and quietly now.

While he was at the bank today he picked up a stack of penny rollers. Maybe if they ever get to $100 in pennies, they should open a joint account with it. He suggests this in spite of his superstitions about open joint accounts, buying joint war bonds, or monogramming linens prior to marriage.

He tells a long and bitter story about his trip to the unclaimed freight store to buy paint for the kitchen. “As luck would have it, there was  no more of the inexpensive crap, so I rashly bought a gallon of some stuff that must be mixed with platinum. I also got for Mom and Pop’s anniversary a big set of earthenware dishes; large and small roasters, mixing bowls and a pitcher. They were looking at it the other day and the price they were quoted was $5 higher than the price I paid for it today. So my enthusiasm over bringing home the gift was considerably dampened by Pop’s over-done rebuke at paying so much for the paint..  ” His father severely lambasted Dart for spending so much money on the only paint in the store, in the process saying some things that hurt Dart deeply. The crockery is stashed in the basement where it will remain until their anniversary next month.

The father’s rampage must have made quite an impression on his son, for Dart can’t seem to let it drop. He tells Dot she would have seen what it looks like when he loses his temper, if she’d been there today, because he was extremely angry at his father’s histrionics. He was criticized for the way he spends his folks’ money (even though it was his own money that paid for the paint today.) Dart refrained from telling his father that, even at $4.95 a gallon, his paint was less expensive than the stuff they used on the ceiling, which Pop had bought by the quart. This nasty scrap has spoiled his excitement about the gift he bought.

Earlier in the day, Dart explored the Flats today. (An industrial area of Cleveland next to Lake Erie.) He remarks how quiet it was with no coal available to run the factories and railroads. He launches into a lecture about the state of the nation when one man – John L. – the leader of some powerful labor union, can bring a mighty nation to her knees. He rants for a few pages about civilization  breaking down, people starving in Europe, the ineffective Congress which seems unable to pass effective legislation that will keep greedy union leaders from bankrupting the country, etc.  After finally venting all his steam, returns his focus to Dot.

How glad he is that her boss was so gracious about her taking the weekend off, and that she still has a job. He may take her up on the invitation to eat at Robin Hood when he comes to Kent this weekend. He doubts Homer will join him, but that’s fine. All he’s concerned about is spending as much time with his beloved as he can.

“My mouth waters, my chest feels tight, and I throb all over when I think of our kisses and our embraces Saturday and Sunday nights. I liked that walk with you Saturday. I wish Mom hadn’t beaten you into  waking me Sunday night. Let’s make it a point to kiss again occasionally. Gee-golly, I love you.”

#          #          #

Dot observes that today marks one year since VE Day. Then she comments that more of her midterms are over, and when they are graded, her college career will be over, too. As hard as she studied, she’s sure she’ll get no better than a C in biology and a D in history. The only bright spot is that her typing teacher told her that if she keeps up, she’ll get an A in that class. Today, she typed 44 wpm with no errors. “I’m really surprised at myself, ‘cuz I don’t strike me as one who would ever learn to type.”

She doesn’t know a thing about houses or investments, but she likes the sound of the idea put forth by Dart’s parents about buying a rental property. “As one who has earned A’s in English just by knowing when things sounded right, I’d say that an idea that sounds good must have some merit. She’s so proud when Dart uses terms like “we” and “our” when talking about future plans. It makes their relationship feel more like a partnership than some she’s seen, and she likes that a lot!

It sounds to her as if the kitchen at his place will look mighty spiffy when he and his dad are finished with it. That gave her a swell idea – why doesn’t he return with her to Greenwich this summer and work for her father? He always says that good painters are hard to find.

Toni Gale has the mumps, but is not too bothered by them. Many of her little friends are also afflicted, so they get to play together in their confinement. Dot sent her a card telling her she’s smart to get them out of the way before she’s 20.

Her mother has landed her a seasonal job with the town recreation board, starting in June. If only she planned to stay at home this summer instead of going to summer school, she’d be in the money. As it is, she’s the only girl in her house with plans to attend classes this summer, even though all of them had initially said they would. Dot says she needs to meet new people who can make up their minds.

For now, she just needs sleep.

Well, the kitchen paint job is over for now, and it looks terrible. The new paint Dart bought is a different color than the paint they started out with, which doesn’t match the ceiling. Now they have a crazy “3-tone white” effect.

He spoke with Homer today, who will not be coming to Kent on Friday with Dart and Al because his mother has asked for his help. He did ask that Dot keep her eyes open for a tall girl (not too tall). Her sweater size and other characteristics don’t matter much, but Homer would like to be able to look at her without shuddering. He trusts Dot’s taste, anyway. He said the other night that he wishes he could find a girl as nice as Dot.

Dart misses her. He’s already missing her from their upcoming visit that hasn’t even started yet, because he realizes that 24-hours from now, he will have already kissed her good-bye. One of these days when she’s in Cleveland, he’d like to take her for a drive to see his Uncle Guy’s unused farm. It’s a big and beautiful spot, probably grown wild by now since nobody’s been there for over four years.

He ends this short letter with “Oh, Dot, I’m too much in love to write you a decent letter tonight. So, as I dream of you, I’ll say good night, wishing we were kissing like we did last weekend.”

#          #          #

There isn’t time for much of a letter tonight because Dot must study for her physical science exam. She quips that as things stand now, she doesn’t know the difference between a sound wave and a permanent wave.

Why must he tell her of the times he almost comes to see her? She gets so disappointed when she learns of what might have been. She wants him to visit as often as he can, whether she knows about it in advance or not, but she implores him not to tell of the aborted plans to come to Kent.

She likes the idea of a picnic on his uncle’s beach lot. She loves to swim, but the idea of Dart seeing her in a swim suit is not a happy thought for her.

She wishes she could write more letters like the one on Sunday that pleased him so much. Right now, she’s tired, disgusted, lonely and love sick, so there’s no chance of writing anything decent. “I love you beyond description, so I won’t waste any more time trying to describe it.”

Dart is lonely and blue (nothing new there) and misses Dot. He went to see “Road to Utopia” by himself today. It was a nice diversion to take his mind off how much her misses her.

He and his folks went to chuch this morning. The minister, Mr. Kercher asked Dart if he’d a nice visit with you on Friday night, so Dart guesses Al’s mother has been talking. Anyway, he likes Mr. Kercher and thinks this church is very friendly, so he’s thinking of joining it soon. Even his parents talk about joining when Burke gets home.

It’s hard to believe that they will soon be feverishly planning their wedding. He’s excited, of course, but he gets scared sometimes, too. It’s all so overwhelming, but at the same time feels almost unreal.

At this point in the letter he begins a long, detailed, and rather dry discussion on …life insurance. He’s been talking with his cousin Jim, a claims adjuster for Traveler’s Insurance, and got the scoop on infinite varieties of policies – all of which he spelled out for Dot in painstaking detail. I’ll spare you, dear reader, from the agony.

He’s been dreaming of when they’re married and he’s a student again, how she can help him with his studies. He’s thrilled that she’s doing so well in typing class, because he hopes to use her skills on his papers.

Tomorrow he’ll go to Cleveland College and to the VA. He hopes for good news about school and about a loan for a house.

He asks for Toni Gale’s address so he can send her a card, and he’s happy to see Dot has started spelling sorority correctly … oops – he just spotted another “sorority” with only one “r”.  He sure hopes they will find compatible friends one they’re married.

He confesses that something has been weighing on his mind since his recent visit to Kent. He is ashamed of the disrespectful tone he used toward her when they were disputing the number of letters Dart had written to her. She may not have even noticed it, but he hates to hear others using that tone on loved ones, and now he’s guilty of it himself. He asks her forgiveness. (I think that spat with his father is still effecting him.)

He hopes he can hornswagle Homer into coming with him to Kent soon (and drive that convertible) but he doesn’t think Joyce is Homer’s type of girl, so maybe he’ll meet someone else.

Okay, he’ll forget about the swimming part of their picnic and just have fun. Still, that day of seeing her in a bathing suit has to come sometime.

#          #          #

Although Dot claims to have been in a maze of fog and gloom this week, there were two bright stars to light her way. First was that surprise call from Dart, less than 48 hours after seeing him. Second was her Mother’s Day call home, which she paid for herself. She’d written to her mother to she if she’d find out if Dot could work for the recreation board the last half of the summer (after summer school or camp? I’m not sure.) Her mother told her that she and Mr. Chamberlain had discussed it and they both thought Dot would need a break after working so long and hard without one. (I’m glad they recognize how hard she works.) They practically insist that she not work during those last weeks of summer before school starts again in the fall. Dot says six weeks sounds like an awfully long break, unless it could be done at Sunapee.

She’s been feeling especially homesick this week – as badly as she felt her first week at Kent. She doesn’t know what she’d do if she didn’t have Dart to keep her company and bring her comfort with his voice and his smile.

She did a big load of laundry after classes and work tonight, so she’s dead tired and must end this letter, sending Dart all her love.