Dot begins by saying that if the letter Dart wrote and never mailed said what she thinks it did, she wouldn’t blame him. She deserves anything he might say because her letter-writing has been horribly lax. She’s decided to quit the excuses about her busy schedule and write at least something to him every day.

She tells Dart that she received a wonderful letter from his mother yesterday, inviting her to stay with them during Dart’s leave. It nearly made Dot cry when she realized how slim the chances are that he’ll get any leave at all. She keeps telling herself not to count on it, but as long as there’s a sliver of a chance, she cannot give up hope. “If prayers, wishes and dreams have anything to do with it, you can consider yourself practically home.”

Referring to his comment that studying seems fruitless to him, she said that’s what she used to say about chemistry. Then she decided to commit to studying every day for a month, and her chem grade went from a C- to an A.

She kids him subtly about his detailed descriptions of the equipment he’s learning to use, calling him “Professor.” She doesn’t understand a thing he said, but she accepts the fact that these gadgets are good things to have on ships, and trusts he’ll manage to learn what he needs to know.

She’s very excited that Cynthia is coming home this weekend from Oberlin College in Ohio. They haven’t seen each other since Dart’s visit to Greenwich last summer. Cynthia writes that she has met a guy at school who’s 6′ 5″. Dot thinks they must make quite a sight, since Cynthia is a mere 5′ 4″.

Dot has begun her Christmas shopping, not to avoid the rush, but to stretch it out so her bank account won’t take too big a hit all at once. Besides, she loves to shop for the holiday, so starting early lets her enjoy it longer.

Back to the hottest topic on her mind, she wonders why the Navy couldn’t give Dart more than a day’s notice if he gets a leave. She would give anything to be at the East Cleveland station to see him jump off that train! When she told the girls at work that he probably wouldn’t get to come home, they were so disappointed. She truly appreciates their support as they celebrate her joys and share her miseries.

It’s cold tonight in her little apartment at the Miller’s house. She knows that if he were with her, the warmth in her heart would radiate throughout the room and keep her toasty, even at thirty degrees below zero.

She closes with “I love you very much, Dart. Please don’t for a second question it!”

Although she doesn’t mention it in her letter, today is the first anniversary of Dart’s first letter to her. How far these kids have come in 365 days!

She has time for just a brief note, but vows to write a longer one tomorrow because she’ll have the following day off work. She begins by answering his question about a record player; she has a Victrola at her disposal in her apartment at the Miller’s house. She’s curious why he asks.

She thanks Dart for the airmail stamps he sent her in a recent letter. He’d noticed that she was plastering numerous odd stamps all over the envelopes of her letters, so he sent these to make her life easier. He, of course, can send his mail with no postage – a welcome perk for fighting for his country.

Dot comments that the letter she got today sounded as though he’s more optimistic about his leave. When his hopes rise, so do hers. She can’t promise, as he requested, that she won’t cry when it’s time to leave each other at the end of their visit (if it happens). All she can say is that she’ll try very hard not to. I don’t see how either of them will be able to have that last kiss without completely falling apart. Everything that comes after that is uncertain, at best, and potentially terrifying. Heck, I get misty-eyed 70 years after the fact and I know the outcome!

She tells Dart to think of her as he’s working his way through the pile of unanswered letters to his friends and family, because she’ll be doing the same thing. She has neglected her correspondence shamefully.

Dot’s amazed that another work week has flown by, but if it gets her closer to seeing Dart, she’s all for it.

Next week at Franklin Simon will be a busy one. They’ve decided to open up the third floor of the store for the Christmas season, putting the children’s department there. That means the entire store has to be re-set. Dot will be moving inventory all over the first floor for most of the week. “It looks simple compared to those fire control problems you write about, but it takes much too much physical exertion to suit me. ”

Naturally, talk turns to the hoped-for leave. Should she take the Monday night train, arriving in Cleveland early Tuesday morning? She can’t see herself following his advice to sleep on the train  because she’ll be thinking too much of him. She promises him, however, that she’ll sleep no more than he does when they’re together.

She tells him about a beautiful dream she’d had recently. She was near a lovely big house out in the country. She was picking flowers, when who should ride up the road on a bicycle, but Dart! She grabbed her bike and they went fishing. (That proves it was a dream, because Dart never went fishing in his life!) They had a wonderful time and it felt so good being together again. Maybe it’s dreams like that one that allow loved ones to endure the pain of separation over long periods. Isn’t the subconscious mind a handy thing?

She comments that whenever she thinks she’ll write a long letter, she begins to run out of words after two or three pages. “The fact that I don’t have any machines to describe to you probably has something to do with it.”

She squeezes out a few more lines with trivial matters like her plans to go to church with her mother tomorrow, and a date with El and Betty B to see Janie tomorrow night.  She’s eagerly awaiting Cynthia’s arrival. C. told Dot she wants to hear all about Dart. “She evidently has no idea how long I can stay on that subject, but she’ll find out soon enough!”

Because she’s turning into an icicle, she’s going to climb under the covers to get warm, happy in the thought that she can sleep later than 6:30 in the morning. She wishes Dart goodnight and sends her love.

Dot hopes this  little letter reaches Treasure Island in time to wish Dart well on his final exams. I’ve been thinking he may do better on those tests than he’d thought because of all the hands-on experience at Point Montara.

She has just received Dart’s letter telling her that he won’t be able to send any mail from his gunnery practice. She’s not sure how she’ll survive four days without hearing from him, but she’ll try.

She’s a little nervous with all Dart’s talk about the importance of English. She claims to be a poor student of that subject; she can never figure out where to place commas and she says she’s the world’s second worst speller. To prove her point, she asks him to bear with her until she gets her “deploma.”

The Hostess House dedication sounded lovely, as did the female officers who were serving refreshments. In case he was trying to make her jealous by mentioning them, Dot feels compelled to tell him that she was invited to a dance last week, but turned the boy down.

Dot’s big news is that she has told Mrs. Miller she’ll  be moving home on November 1, so Dart can begin sending his letters to the Mason Street address. She must feel relieved at the prospect of working only one job soon.

Dot’s friend Cynthia and Dart’s cousin Margaret, both piano students at Oberlin College, have finally met each other in Ohio. Small world.

The toothpicks Dot’s using to keep her eyelids propped up have failed to do their job, so she must bid Dart good-night. There are no letters written on October 24, so I’ll be back in a couple of days.

Dot begins by wishing the Navy a happy 170th birthday. She declares that it has done a great job showing it has what it takes. Now, all it needs to do to prove how perfect it is would be to give Dart that leave!

She returned to work but was able to last only about two hours. She’s not sure what’s wrong with her, but the doctor wants to do a thorough exam and X-ray tomorrow to get to the bottom of it.

From Dart’s initial description, Dot has concluded that Point Montara doesn’t sound like the kind of place she’d want to be stuck in for life, but it seems ideal for antiaircraft practice. That sounds like “damnation by faint praise.”

She and El just finished doing the supper dishes. (Does anyone use the word “supper” anymore?) To pass the time, they sang duets until her dad joined them and created a trio. She says her father has a swell voice, but rarely sings. “We had loads of fun, and if I do say so, it didn’t sound half bad.”

She tells Dart she doesn’t care how many sailors get thrown into the brig, as long as he isn’t one of them. She doubts that would ever happen. “You always seem to know the right thing to do at the right time. That’s something which, if I’m with you long enough, I would like to acquire.”

Has she told Dart that her sister-in-law, Betty B has moved into the Chamberlain house? Actually, she’s been there for weeks, but Dot neglected to say anything to him. She’s lived with her mother her entire life, and now that she’s a married woman, she thought it best if she learned to live elsewhere.

This evening, El and Betty were in the living room talking about their men. Dot got so tired of them ignoring her in the conversation that she sprang up and began to pace the room, loudly proclaiming Dart’s many virtues. When she had finished her rant, Betty said to El, “Well, I guess our kid sister is really in love!” So, Dot is happy to say that if she accomplished nothing else today, she managed to convince them how she feels about Dart.

She closes so that she can get some sleep and be in good shape for her physical tomorrow. She apologizes for the sloppiness of her letter, but she had to make lots of corrections for the “Professor.”