sorta sordid but beautiful too

Fri. Jan 9 [sic], 1941

Dear Diary, 

What a day. It’s been a real thrill. This evening about 8:30 I had my lessons spread all over the dinning-room [sic] table and the telephone rang. I answered. 

It was Leigh. He wanted me to go for a ride. Well I went. 

Lorraine & Bud, Marie & Mitch (Mitchell Jordan), Leigh & I all went. Bud unhitched a wire so the mileage wouldn’t mount and we stole some of Percy’s gas and drove. We went over all the back roads between Bolivar and Allentown then went up nearly to Alice’s schoolhouse and turned the other way and finally came back out on the road that we’d “crowed the car off. We turned around and got almost to Allentown and had, “car-trouble,” stopped and parked by two big tanks. Then we came home by Richburg Hill and we saw some deer. We were discussing them and Leigh said something about having seen a deer before but from the way he drew me closer he might have meant a dear. 

We came back, went up to Lorraine’s and they wanted to go in. I wanted to too but thought I’d better come home. They brought me down but I think Leigh wanted me to sit there a while before I came in. I was so rather mean to crawl out so determinedly. Say, it gave me a funny feeling seeing Mitch kissing Marie, and Lorraine & Bud, sorta sordid but beautiful too. Oh, the girls asked me to show my ring to prove it was prettier than Bolivar’s. Marie asked June to show hers at home and Mitch said if she liked it so well she’d better get one. She said she bet she could and he said that she’d better give his back and she did. 

Well Leigh wore mine all the time we were out tonight and when we were at Jones he said he still had his flashlight and I said, “You’ve still got my ring too but you’re not going to have.” Well he took it off and put it on me. 

It made me feel sorta disconcerted tonight though. I’d much rather go with Lucile & Wayne. 

Happy, tired, and cold-footed, 

Me.