“I love you.”

“How’s that for a first paragraph? I feel like writing them all  like that tonight. There’s no letter from you today, so there’s nothing to answer.”

A letter from Burke today announced he got a small promotion so Dart went to the Army-Navy surplus store to try to find a rating badge for him. No luck.

This afternoon he went downtown to check out the highly touted Mid-America Exposition. It was big and mildly interesting, but not at all exciting.

In response to her letter from last week, he won’t promise to do his homework before writing to her, but he’ll give it a try to see how it works. “My letters will not be as regular, nor as  long, once I start the grind.”

“Good night, Dearest. I love you very much.I feel like a long talk with you, maybe because I’m discouraged about something or other, but it’s a talk I want; not a pen-fest.”

#          #          #

Dot enjoyed Dart’s letter about the antique auto show he went to, even after hearing all about it when they were together on Saturday.

Then, in response to his report of the railroad fan social meeting the other night, she writes, “Whether you believe me or not, I really would like to visit Larry Greasel and see his trains. I wish I hadn’t made such kidding remarks about your hobby ‘cuz now it will take the rest of my life to convince you that I like trains.”

Then she adds a cryptic paragraph. “Why didn’t you send the letter you wrote on Thursday? I bet it would have done me more good than anything. Even though it may have had its bad effects first, it would have made an impression I’d remember longer. I hope I can change, Dart. I surely don’t want to be a roughneck all my life. I’m  so impulsive that half the time I don’t even realize I’m doing it. Now we’re even ‘cuz I wrote a letter to you a few days ago that never got mailed.”

She has a biology exam tomorrow and had planned to study for it tonight. Instead, her bed became the gathering point for four girls who wanted to regale her with stories about their sorority. They knew she wasn’t interested, she asked them to let her study in peace, but they just hung on. That really burns her up and makes her glad she’ll have a quieter living arrangement next year.

“I’ve been wondering if you were disappointed when I said ‘no’ Saturday night. I didn’t want to – you know that – but I was trying to see how well and for how long I could follow your instructions. It isn’t easy, is it? But it is worth it, of that we are sure, so let’s see if we can continue this way.”

“I love you and miss you terribly, Dart. What am I going to do when I go home? See you in 10 days!”

Dart’s eight–page letter carries none of the heaviness that his longer letters so often do. It’s full of responses to her recent notes, practical comments on their budget, and happy chat.

He wonders if she marvels at the fact that they probably have just 35-40 letters left to write in their singleness. It seems hard to imagine that their “courtship” is about to come to an end.

The chambray dress she described sounds interesting. He can’t wait to see that and the other new items in her wardrobe. He’s glad she shortened the dress. “I think that few women look well in these new longer dresses.  The dresses make skinny legs look bow-legged, cute calves look heavy, and round calves look fatter.” Is he suddenly a fashion critic, or just a keen observer of women’s legs?

He says he sure hopes they go to a formal occasionally, and then he mocks himself for using the word “occasionally,” as if such affairs happen every day in the lives of young Clevelanders. If they ever have the opportunity, though, she’ll have to teach him how to dance first.

He wishes he could meet her half-way down the aisle. Then he asks if he’ll be able to watch her walking down on Uncle Ralph’s arm, or will he be required to “look nonchalantly the other way, as if I didn’t know you were sneaking up behind me?” That makes me wonder what kind of weddings Dart has been to.

Has she realized yet what he just remembered he forgot to add to t he honeymoon budget? A honeymoon could not get off to a very good start if one didn’t first pay for the license and the minister.

Yes, he believes they will start to use the third floor immediately when they return to Cleveland. After all, the house will be full with Burke  home for the summer. No one has told Kathleen yet that she’ll have to move out. His parents need her rent for as long as possible, but Dart feels they should tell her now because of the housing shortage.

As for their meals and cooking, his folks expect them to do most of their own meals up in their little apartment, which is the most sound and reasonable thing to do. However, they could be in big trouble if the cops find out. Storing and preparing food in an illegal third-floor apartment could get them into lots of trouble.

Dot’s estimate of $10 per week for rent is probably a little high. His parents plan for the third floor tenants to pay the rent for the whole apartment. Mr. Kuntz pays $14 a month and the total rent for the whole apartment is $45. That means Dot and Dart will be asked to pay $31 per month, or about $7.75 per week.

The typewriter will be paid for in October and he’d like to increase his pledge to the church. He doubts he’ll work at the newspaper if he can find another job, but whatever he earns should go toward lunches, recreation, and savings. If both of them get streetcar passes, that’s $2.50 per week. That’s about it for his comments on her draft budget.

“I was running for a streetcar today and some joker came running around a corner. We met. My palms filled with cinders and I got well shaken-up. I landed in some screwy way on my shoulder my chest and shoulder muscles hurt tonight. A minor matter, but I better feel like carrying you a couple of steps! Say, when do I carry you? Into 115 Mason Street, into Hotel Green (or a room therein), or into Bonnie Neuk? Or all three!?!”

The he asks, “Haven’t we had a nice courtship, Dot? In spite of war, and separation, and everything else, we’ve been a mighty happy pair. Lonely at times, to be sure. But even our loneliness has been tempered by the knowledge that we have the promises of each other, and the fulfillment of those promises to look forward to.”

He bids her good night and wonders how he can say or imply all the tenderness and longing that he has for you, except through those three little words they rely on. “I love you.”

#          #          #

Tonight, Dot and her mother went to a dinner hosted by Doug’s scout troop. They were raising money to improve the country cabin they use for camping. The tickets were $1.50 each and the place was mobbed, so she guesses they made a lot of money. All the mothers donated an apple pie to the dinner, and Dot made sure she got a slice of her mother’s.

Having finished her assignment at Town Hall, she’s back on her feet tomorrow, so she needs to hit the sack now.

“Good  night, my dearest Dart. I’m yours, forever.”

Dart went shopping for trousers today. They’re getting easier to find, but no easier to pay for.

They had their usual good time at the Skyline meeting tonight. As he was riding the streetcar home, he happened to pull out some photos that Burke took of his little engine.  When he showed them to John Downing, fellow Skyline staffer and Ohio Bell worker, John was surprised to learn that Dart was a model railroader. It turns out that John has his own layout at home, so he rode out to Dart’s place to look at his set-up. “What a surprise! We’ve been going to these meetings for weeks and here we find we have more than one or two common interests.” As life turned out, they had several; jazz, photography, and a similar sense of humor. John and his wife, Shirley became my parents best friends until John’s untimely death at the age of 49. The Peterson “kids” are friends with the Downing offspring even today.

Dart included a drawing of the window treatment he’d written about in an earlier letter – One with a valance that extended the full width of a window wall and hid the rods containing the floor-to-ceiling drapes that covered the entire wall.

So, she says she likes camelhair sport coats, especially on “tall, dark handsome men like the one I’m going to marry.” Dart asks her who exactly that is, because he’d certainly hoped he was in the running for the guy she’d marry, yet he doesn’t fit that description. “Tall? Maybe, but will that be enough? Dark? Sure, when the lights are out or when soiled. But handsome? Only in my wildest dreams.” I can just hear my mother telling him to stop fishing for compliments.

#          #          #

Dot’s a little nervous because she hasn’t heard from Dart in a couple of days. She hopes that means he’s busy and not sick again, but she won’t know until Monday because Greenwich has stopped Saturday mail delivery. “Pretty soon, they won’t bother unrolling the sidewalks in the morning around here. The town is already developing the faint smell of a morgue.”

Tonight she babysat for the McDonald family, for whom she worked quite a while ago. They have three kids named Charlie, Ruth and the baby, Beth. Mrs. McDonald isn’t much of a housekeeper, always leaving a pile of unrinsed dishes in a greasy sink, which she expects Dot to clean up. She’s only agreed to work for them because she’s desperate for money.

Someone named Peggy Ann has come down with the measles and her folks will be out of town all day Saturday. Dot will go over and feed her meals. She’s also decided to take her radio over for Peggy Ann because it’s no fun to lie in a dark room all day with nothing to help pass the time.

Miss Dilla of the YWCA called Dot this morning to see if she would work at a Sunday afternoon social the Y is trying out. She’d like Dot to mingle with the kids and find out what kind of activities and entertainment they’d like to see at these functions.

Because of the cold, damp weather, Dot was sent home from work early today and told not to come back until Monday. She used the extra time to paint the front bathroom a new, fresh green. Today, her father contracted with professional painters to do the outside of the house before the wedding. Dot’s happy that the house will have a clean face for the occasion.

This tired babysitter needs her sleep. She hopes Dart isn’t sick, but if he is, she’s sending him wishes for a speedy recovery.

Dart has spent the better part of the evening on the big task of working out his school schedule for summer and fall. Cleveland College finally got around to telling him exactly what he needs to complete his degree. An error of some sort was discovered, giving him 93 hours toward the 120 hours needed for completion. It turns out he’s been a senior since January! But, he needs six more hours of Spanish, 11 hours of English, and several hours of something else that would constitute a minor. He’s decided on a psychology minor, meaning he’ll need to take English and psych as his two classes this summer.

He wonders if Dot knew a Ronnie Roerig at Andrews. Her name is Mrs. Bruce Wilson now. (How sad that she had to give up both her first and her last name!) Anyway, she’s the wife of a school chum of Dart’s and is involved someway with the alumnae group at Andrews.

Rejoice! Helen Peterson just got a small raise at work, and Dart, Sr. returns to his job at Quad Hall on Saturday. He’s happy to be going back on his favorite shift from midnight to 8:00 AM, as the “night man.”

He fears Dot has cursed them by hoping for a thunder storm at Sunapee. Now he bets they’ll have one every night they’re there.

He’ll get started on the blood test next week. Neither Dot nor the copy of the law she sent him stated where the blood test results go when they’re ready. Will he get a copy, or his doctor, or the state of Connecticut? He is highly motivated to get it right so they can get married on schedule.

As for their love letters, why not lug them to Sunapee? Then, if they get tired of sleeping, eating, chopping wood, washing (clothes and each other), mountain climbing, canoeing and swimming, not to mention (!), they can sort through them and decide which ones to save. “It’ll give us something else to be happy about.”

Then he asks if either Burke or Tom could come to Connecticut with him. Would she or the family mind? Would there be sleeping space for an extra person? He’d like some company on the trip and he thinks the Chamberlains could use an extra hand on deck for all the work they’re trying to do before the wedding.

He’ll save her May 2nd letter for answering at a later time. He feels like writing one of those lonely letters, but realizes that wouldn’t do either of them any good at this point, so he’ll say good night and turn his attentions to his Spanish text book.

#          #          #

Dot’s letter is another one of those that stretches across a couple of days. She worked one day recently for the Miller family until 8:00 PM, followed immediately by a stint at the McDonald’s house. There, she found the usual mess in the kitchen and by the time she’d cleaned it up and washed her hair, she fell into the guest bed without writing.

She staffed the teen social at the Y and had a great time. Next week she’ll handle the event all on her own, overseeing the care and feeding of 50 teens. She’ll make more money for that one, but it’s a lot of responsibility. Anyway, now that she knows most of the kids, she thinks it’ll be a fun job.

She continues the next day in an attempt to answer Dart’s letters. She fears that his calculations on the timing of her “monthly visitor” are a little off. If she continues on the same schedule as she has been the last few months, June 19 will be a very uncomfortable day for her, with the wedding day only marginally better.

His Uncle Ed must be a swell guy, giving Dart’s parents the money they need to come to Connecticut. She guesses swell guys must run in the family.

She likes his drawing of the wall of drapes and has seen similar things in magazines. They look a little bit complicated for her to just whip up, but maybe his seamstress mother could give her a few pointers.

As for speaking to Dr. Knowlton prior to the wedding, Dot has another idea. Although she knows him very well, she feels his ideas may be a little old fashioned. El has suggested an appointment with a woman physician named Dr. Shaw. El says she’s very easy to talk to and is wholeheartedly in favor of contraception for young couples who want it.

She fears Dart’s honeymoon budget is way off. On the one hand, she doesn’t think they’ll get very far on $5.00 worth of gasoline, and unless marriage puts him off his habit of eating, she fears their food for the week will exceed the $15.00 he has budgeted. On the other hand, a plain gold band shouldn’t cost more than $8.00. She makes no mention of Dart’s wedding ring, but I suppose that might come out of her own budget.

“Theoretically, you’re supposed to carry me over the threshold of our new home. I doubt you’ll be able to do it anywhere, though. No, I’m not trying to surprise you. I haven’t lost an ounce, but if you think I have,you will be surprised.”

In other news, she enjoyed the copy of the Skyline, she’d like to send Burke a birthday card, she bought a beautiful suit today, by accident. It’s a glen plaid and it fits her perfectly. She happened to be in Norman’s shop when he closed up yesterday, so he invited her to have dinner with him. She called home to get El’s permission, and they had a lovely time together. When she got home at 7:30, Virginia was waiting to see if Dot wanted to take a walk with her (like she needs more exercise!), so they strolled for about a half  hour. Norm and El went to the church tonight to discuss wedding details with the minister. She and Dart will have to make an appointment with him as soon as Dart arrives.

“I love you, Dart. I’ll only be writing it about 40 more times in daily letters, but I’ll be trying to show you how much I love you for the rest of my life.”

Dart should be in bed, catching up on lost sleep, but “the old bug of work put off too long has me in his pincers and I scream every time he rams that stinger in up to the hilt.”

There were snow flurries all day in Cleveland, but nothing stuck to the ground.

“After getting a C on the first psych test last month, I got the second  highest grade in the class on last Wednesday’s. …And I studied for it by running my railroad in the afternoon and looking at paragraph headings in the text book on my way to class that evening.”

He warns her that she’ll be in for some long drill sessions on Spanish this summer. He’s sure he can’t get better than a D this term, but he’ll have to work harder on his final class in September.

He’s been so wrapped up in school work that he’s had no time for humor, enjoyment, or random thoughts. He needs a vacation in the worst way.

“I’m about to write book reports without thoroughly reading the books. One in journalism is weeks late and two others are almost due. There are also some coming up in American lit, prose workshop and psych.”

It’s come to his attention that there’s another problem; he seems to be all wrapped up in himself. It occurs to him that most of his paragraphs either start with “I” or revolve about him.

A list in today’s newspaper gives all the groom’s expenses for the wedding. They include: a gift for the bride, usually jewelry; renting a car to take the bride from the church; and the minister’s fee, ranging from $10 to $50, depending on the size of the wedding, the prestige of the pastor and the wealth of the church.

What butterflies he gets when he thinks how soon they’ll be together, forever!

#          #          #

It’s a short one from Dot tonight, and for many nights to come. She must focus on getting the house ready, and there’s still so much to do. The list includes:  painting woodwork in the upper hall, staircase and living room; painting the whole kitchen, which will take a week; washing all the windows in the massive house; and sanding and varnishing three floors. They only have five weeks to complete that work because they don’t want wet paint and fumes as the guests begin to arrive the week before the wedding.

Her family seems less than enthusiastic about her new suit, so she may take it back.

Just think! Five weeks from this coming Sunday, she and Dart will be attending services at the Second Congregational Church of Greenwich together! She believes he’s never seen the inside, but she assures him it’s beautiful and big! The sanctuary was packed at Harriet’s wedding and she hates to think how crowded it will be for a double wedding! She and El fear the curiosity of such an event will draw lots of town folks who haven’t even been invited.

“It’s a small letter, Dart, but the love that accompanies it knows no bounds.”

Dart is nearly giddy after a phone call from Dot. He can’t recall too much of what they said, as excited as he was to hear her voice.

If his plans for summer and fall classes are approved, he’ll share them with her. If they aren’t approved, he has a back-up plan. One class he hopes to take this summer is child psychology.

He tells Dot she better not pass out in the aisle! She could really gum up the works if she does something like that. Who will walk down the long aisle first – her or El?

They had more snow squalls today and a neighborhood hardware store took some snow shovels out of storage and placed them for sale. Nothing stuck because the ground was too warm.

He’s tired, hungry, and lonely. He’s also happy she called.

#          #          #

Dot had a similar reaction to the phone call as Dart; so happy to hear him say her name, and too distracted by his voice to remember what they talked about.

After cleaning up dinner dishes tonight, she and Nancy went over to the Meyerink house to have some birthday cake in honor of El. Everyone was making jokes about how Dot’s birthday would be totally ignored this year. It falls on the day of Doug’s graduation, and the day before the wedding. They may be planning to ignore her, but she won’t let that happen. As her birthday approaches, she plans to plaster the house with signs that say, “Now that it’s June, I’ll be 21 soon.”

Her job ended today, but she begins working for the Millers on Monday, giving them as many hours as she can until June. She’ll be making $25 tax-free dollars, as well as her meager pay from the YWCA for her Sunday chaperone duties.

Her cousin Virginia is directing “HMS Pinafore” at the high school this week, and gave Dot and Nancy tickets to see it tomorrow night. Dot’s looking forward to a free night on the town.

Talking to him tonight about the wedding makes it seem so close and very real! In about five weeks, they’ll be together in Greenwich. She begs him to let her know as soon as possible what day he plans to arrive. When will he have his bachelor dinner? The sooner he (and Burke?) can get to Greenwich, the better. The family can use the extra hands.

She sure hopes her nervous stomach calms down pretty soon, but she doubts it will until the wedding is a thing of the past. Love is doing terrible things to her innards.

She sends him all her love, forever and ever.

Dart’s letter is filled with enthusiasm for his future class schedule, his successful shopping trip, but especially for the fact that he has only six more weeks to wait until he can marry his beloved Dot.

But first, he gave the lawn its first trim of the season and has decided he’s not a big fan of physical labor. He made that assessment after slipping in the mud and having to pull the mower out of sink holes several times. He certainly feels the lack of exercise over the winter months.

He’s registered for two classes during the second summer session. The first is a tough literature class that’s taught daily at the Western Reserve campus. The second is also daily at the downtown Cleveland College campus. That one is a child psychology class. Then in the fall, he’ll carry 13 credit hours, not quite the maximum, but enough to keep him busy.

The shopping caused him to dip slightly into their $300 savings, but he hopes to replace that when his May GI Bill check arrives. He was able to get swim trunks, another pair of trousers, some yellow dress socks, and  “a pair of black marryin’ shoes. Big ones. All my shoes are big, but these are the biggest!”

He told Dot about a congenial and productive Skyline staff meeting. He has come to truly enjoy his time with these folks. Tonight, they read 12 submissions and selected all of them. In the process, they were able to see some of their mistakes from earlier meetings, Dart joined two others to form a committee tasked with writing up a procedural manual on how to select appropriate pieces for publication. They’re hoping the results will help next year’s staff put together a better magazine.

He writes that he’s never been so busy, or so lonesome at the same time. Someday he’ll tell her about the delightful daydream he just had. He thinks she’d like it.

Just a note: Throughout the letter, Dart used a red pencil to circle and number every “I” that he wrote. The total came to 26, which he deemed “too many.”

#          #          #

With her usual number of puns and wisecracks, Dot answers some of Dart’s recent letters.

She’s pleased to hear he’s a senior and wonders if that means he might be graduating next January. She’s happy to hear he’s chosen psychology as his minor because that seems to suit him well. And, in case he needs a reminder, she tells hem that she’s extremely proud of him.

As long as there’s no snow, she won’t care what the weather at Sunapee is like. He mustn’t laugh, because her father still tells tales of the snow storm he witnessed up there in July when he was a boy.

She thinks his blood test will be returned to his doctor and Dart can just bring it with him when he comes. She’s able to apply for the license before he arrives and they can complete the process when he gets into town.

It would be fun to bring their letters with them to Sunapee, if they have room.

“What’s that about two minds with a single thought? In last night’s letter  I asked if Burke could come to Greenwich with you and today I got a letter from you asking if it was alright for Burke to come with you. The more the merrier!”

She asks why he will have to be content with a D in Spanish. Even if he gets a D, he needn’t be content with it. She hopes that she can help him next term by helping him run Spanish drills. “Who knows – maybe you could even teach me something. Although, why should you be able to teach me anything when no one else has found it possible?”

“Consider yourself lucky to be all wrapped up in you. I’d give almost anything to be in the same position.”

He spoiled the wedding gift she was going to get him when he bought himself some luggage. She asks why they don’t just agree to let their rings be their gifts to each other. “There is nothing I want or need more, and I’m sure neither of us can afford much else at this point.” She reports that Norm gave El a set of matched luggage, and she gave him a portable radio.” She quips that they can’t all be plutocrats. Besides, she already has matched luggage and Dart can borrow her radio whenever his heart desires.

Her hands are numb from writing and she’s very tired. Mostly, she’s tired of not being married to him, but that’s about to change in six weeks.