It was Friday. This would not mean anything for normal partygoers, as it was their wild habit of going to Gatsby’s extravagant parties, but to Gatsby, this was the day he was going to impress Daisy. He was restless as he roamed the massive halls of his house. He had no destination; he just kept going back and forth. I was becoming nervous just by looking at him, even a little light headed. Although it was amusing to see a man that was at the center of wild rumors, have the demeanor of that of a child. He was nervous, plain to anyone walking by. His butlers gave him strange looks, some offered him a drink but he refused and waved them away. The funny thing was that the party had not begun, nor was it planned yet.
“Gatsby, I believe that wondering around will not help this party.” I said as I breathlessly caught up to his quick pace.
“I know, old sport. But I must make this perfect if Daisy is to leave with me. She must see all I have done and she must be amazed, therefore, I pace.” And pace he did. I had seen Gatsby this way before. He had the same glint in his eye and determination as he did when talking about his past, though not his real one as I later found out. He also had a tint of melancholy in his voice. He wanted so desperately to have his illusion of grandeur achieved that if it were to falter, he would crumble into nothingness. I hoped, for Gatsby’s sake, it would not falter.
After endless pacing and sighs, Gatsby had a sudden epiphany. “ I know, old sport! I shall throw a masquerade party, oh but Daisy should not know, oh no. She must not expect it and I shall be hidden amongst the sea of masks. She will not know who I am; therefore she will not see the man behind the rumors, but the man inside. Ah, splendid. I must start right away.” With that, his eyes brightened like the new day sun, a smile crept onto his face and he quickly made his way up the winding set of stairs.
After hours of preparation, it was time for the grandest center piece, Daisy. I had told Jordan to go pick out a dress that would make Daisy shine, which meant that Daisy had to wear something other than her white attire which she was so fond of. As one may have assumed, Daisy did not take the invitation for dress shopping lightly. She was perplexed and wrinkled her nose in such a way it appeared she had smelled something foul. “Why?” She questioned, her voice strained. Jordan looked as if she was going to hit Daisy over the head with her golf club, but then she straightened her back and sighed. Grabbing Daisy’s white fleece sleeve, she and Daisy left the grand house. I was lucky that Tom had been away with Myrtle or he too would have been asking questions I much preferred not to answer.
The plan was set in motion and I smiled gleefully, happy that I had helped Gatsby, as I ventured off to his house. I was in a suit and tie, as the attire was supposed to be formal, and had a white mask which I firmly grasped. Once at the door, my palms began to sweat. Everything that could possibly go wrong raced through my mind. I took a breath and grabbed the door knob. It cracked open and I was welcomed by the sound of laughter and the soft music of a string quartet. I gasped; this was not like the usual Gatsby party. Unlike the others it was quite tame. Wow, I thought, he really does want to impress her.
I made my way into the main room and was surprised by the amount of flowers that filled it. Each flower had porcelain, white petals which reflected the rippling water of a nearby fountain. Although the room was dimly light, the flowers shone through the way Daisy did in Gatsby’s dream world. I made my way to the next room where more flowers littered the floors and white roses cascaded down the stair railings like a waterfall. The whole house smelled like fresh spring time and as I wondered further, I smelled fresh lobster. As I took in all the smells, I closed my eyes. My mind wondered far from the house but it was brought back by the sound of an all too familiar voice, “Glad you came, old sport.”
I opened my eyes to a glowing Gatsby. Sheer determination seemed to explode from him. His hands were in the pockets of a nicely tailored suit. This was a typical position of Gatsby; it meant he was comfortable, which was good to see. He was also wearing a white mask, with embroidered jewels. This mask made his eyes stand out, but to any of the other party goers, and hopefully to Daisy, it was still difficult to tell that Gatsby was behind it.
He smiled at me and placed his arm over my shoulder as we glided together throughout the party. There were 15 people attending, counting Gatsby and me, and there were soon to be 17 when Jordan and Daisy arrived. There were all wealthy people who knew how to act and respected some nice caviar from time to time. It was not hard to tell that they were rich, with the masks they had on, but it was still nice to see so many well behaved people.
Gatsby was in the middle of introducing me to man he had meet from the war, when the door bell rang. Again Gatsby’s once strong demeanor shrunk to a panicked child. His eyes widened and I noticed his breath quicken. “It’ll be alright,” I reassured him and made my way to the door. When I opened it, a lanky Jordan, wearing an off white mask and a bored looking Daisy, wearing no mask at all, came into view. Daisy’s dress was a bright yellow, much like that of the center of a daisy, and her hair was tied in a tight bun. She would definitely by the center of the all white party. When she saw me, her face lit up and she braced me in a big hug. “Oh Nicky! Is all of this for me?”
I was unsure what to say. Yes, it was all for her, but I had not thrown it. “Yes,” I finally spoke, “but I did not plan it.”
“Oh, then who did?”
“Why the man who lives in this house, of course.”
“Now, who could that be?” Daisy was becoming increasingly upset that I was not giving her straight answers but I just sighed and led her into the house.
Daisy’s eyes light up at the sight of the flowers and a tear slowly made its way down her silk face. I smiled while Jordan rolled her eyes. I began to search for Gatsby, fearful that he had skipped out, but then was surprised when I heard, “Now, everyone, the person this party is for has arrived. Please all turn to see her exquisite nature.” Daisy gasped. She knew this voice. My smile widened as I saw Daisy’s mind set in motion. Jordan just sighed and grabbed a glass of white wine. The lights got dimmer as a glittering figure made its way down the stairs. Daisy transfixed on this figure, began to move towards it. Finally, the two collided as the string quartet let out a huge note. The two figures embraced, tears falling down Daisy’s cheek. People began murmuring, but that did not matter. For in that moment, Gatsby had his flower.