My clothes had caught up with me by then, and I had a dusky absinthe-colored dress that orbited low on my hips and bloomed with an embroidery of vines around my throat and my hems. I borrowed from Daisy a pair of gold satin shoes and a flower pin wrought in gold for my hair, and after that we were late. Daisy was too nervous to drive, so we roused Ferdie, the chauffeur, and a little while later, we were zipping along the road to West Egg.
The day when Daisy met Jay Gatsby again should have been beautiful, the same kind of day on which she had been married, or at least a crisp and dying summer day like the one where she had met the handsome young soldier. Instead silvery clouds hung overhead like wet rags out to dry, and when we stepped out of the car in front of Nick’s humble little place, we could both smell the rain, paused for the moment, but by no means gone. Back in Louisville, that high wet smell coupled with the uncomfortable prickling heat meant that a twister was on the way, crossing the flat cropland with a destructive fury that was out to ruin lives. We were in the East, however, and we had other ways to ruin our lives.
Nick’s house was a strange thing, little more than a gardener’s cottage on a sliver of lawn that had nevertheless been neatly mowed. To one side was the house of a steel magnate, currently on holiday in France until certain scandals died away, and beyond Nick’s place on the other side was the looming estate of Jay Gatsby. There was something diminished about it during the day, I thought, as if even magic must sleep sometime.
We came out of the car to see Nick crossing the lawn to greet us. He was well turned out in a lovely gray suit, but there was a slightly harassed and hunted air about him, something papered over with relief when he saw us. He greeted us both with hugs, and Daisy hung on for a moment longer than was proper, ticking her fingers along his buttons.
“Why, dear Nick, are you in love with me, and that was why I needed to come alone?”
I had almost forgotten that Daisy was meant to be the unknowing lamb in this scene. She grinned flirtatiously up at Nick, who tactfully pried her off of him, trading a glance with me. I suddenly couldn’t tell if I was meant to be in a conspiracy with him or with her, but I was rather grateful when he walked ahead of us to show us into his home. I never knew I was the jealous type before. Usually, things ended before I ever got to that point.
I had been to Nick’s house a time or two. It was dark and narrow, but his maid kept it as trim as a Navy ship berth, the floors scrubbed within an inch of their lives, the doorknobs and windows gleaming. I caught a glimpse of her narrow and nervous face peeping at us from down the hall. I imagined we must be the strangest creatures to her, moving so lightly through the house that she must consider in some way her own.
We came to the small living room, where I was briefly stunned with the profusion of flowers set on nearly every flat surface. Even Daisy, who had something of a mania for sunflowers, looked around in surprise. It was as if someone had emptied out a greenhouse and jammed it into Nick’s small parlor. The air was hung with the heavy scents of jacaranda and jasmine, so thickly dizzying that I thought there must be some magic keeping them young and fresh.
What a ridiculous thing, I thought, a little light-headed. Nick doesn’t have the money for this …
I saw Nick open his mouth and then close it again. He looked around, as if it might be possible for someone to hide under the divan or among the blossoms.
“Well, that’s funny,” he muttered.
“What is?” asked Daisy, batting her eyes.
Before he could answer, there was a rap at the door, and Nick excused himself to see to it.
Daisy gave me a baffled look, and all I could do was shrug.
Then there was a step in the hallway, and when Jay Gatsby actually appeared, we both gave him an appalled look.
I don’t know what Daisy had built up in her head, but I know that the picture I had come up with was beautiful. It was probably wrong, and like the wallpaper that had gassed all those people in London, probably poisonous, but it was beautiful.