The Great Gatsby Page #4

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The drugstore business, then oil.

I'm not in either one now.

- That huge place over there?

- Do you like it?

I love it! But how do you

live there all by yourself?

I keep it full of interesting

people, night and day.

People who do interesting things,

celebrated people.

It's beautiful.

Beautiful.

- Excuse us!

- Quite all right.

Klipspringer was left over

from a party in April.

He was here two weeks

before I knew he'd moved in.

- Did we interrupt your exercises?

- I was asleep, at least I had been...

- Klipspringer plays the piano.

- I hardly play at all...

We'll go upstairs

and he'll play for us. Yes?

Of course I'll play the piano.

- Um, I really am out of practice.

- Don't talk so much. Play!

Jay!

All these clippings about me!

That's a souvenir of my Oxford days.

It was taken in Trinity Quad.

The man on my left

is now the Earl of Doncaster.

Yes?

Well, check with Wolfsheim.

Just do it. I can't talk now.

- Here you are, old sport.

- Thank you.

Come here, quick!

Look at that!

I'd like to get one of those pink clouds

and put you in it and push you around.

I've got a man in London

who buys all my clothes.

He sends over a selection

of things each season.

Spring and fall.

DAISYI:

I've never seen

such beautiful shirts before!

- You are a rotten driver!

- We missed it, didn't we?

- Hello, Mr Wilson.

- How are you?

Fill her up, please.

You ought to be more careful,

or not drive at all.

Let other people be careful.

Takes two to make an accident.

Suppose you meet somebody

as careless as you?

I hope I never will.

I hate careless people.

That's why I like you.

Thanks very much.

Myrtle?

- Do you remember?

- I do.

When an hour alone with you

was an impossibility.

- My parents!

- No.

Other officers...

Driving up to your great house,

honking, calling out for you.

I remember one on the porch,

waiting in darkness so complete

I couldn't see his face.

They meant nothing.

An hour of your time,

away from the others.

Now you have it, Jay.

All those officers,

what were their names?

You remember their names?

Parts of their names. Not their faces.

Silly young men.

So silly, to let an 18-year-old girl

into their hearts.

Sentimental.

You were never sentimental, Jay.

I can't believe it's all here!

Everything that's happened to me.

I collected them.

Your debut after the Armistice,

pictures of you in shining cars,

every ball you attended.

I wore out a hundred pairs of slippers.

Come and sit by me, Jay.

I will.

Why do you stand or sit

as far away from me as possible?

I find it difficult...

To be close to me?

It's been a very long time

since I've been able to look at you.

I wish you had your uniform still.

I would wear the same gown I wore

when you were my favourite beau.

We'd dance right here in the great hall

of this preposterous house of yours!

My sweet young Lieutenant Jay Gatsby!

I do still have my uniform.

Then you are a sentimental man.

And Tom? Did you love him?

- Tom who?

- Your husband.

- I know who you mean.

- Why did you marry Tom?

I don't want to talk about Tom!

Or my wedding.

It makes me sad.

And I want to be happy.

- You used to like to make me happy.

- You didn't love him?

It was fine for you, wasn't it?

Crowding into my life,

riding in my white car.

Wearing your romantic uniform that hid

who you were, where you came from.

Breaking my heart

with your impossible love!

Going off to your adventure...

I told you I'd come back for you,

in my letter.

You said you'd wait.

I'd waited so long!

We were so close

in our month of love.

Why did you marry him?

Mr Tom Buchanan, son of

Mr Torn Buchanan of Chicago, Illinois,

blew into my life with more

pomp and circumstance

than Louisville ever knew before.

He came down with a hundred people

in four private rail road cars.

He hired a whole floor

of the Muhlbach Hotel, he just

blinded me with excitement.

He gave you a string of pearls.

Valued at $350,000.

Jordan Baker told you that, didn't she?

Traitor!

Well, what else did she tell you?

Did she tell you

how she found me that night?

Lying in my room, drunk as a monkey,

with a bottle of Sauternes

in one hand and...

My letter in the other.

"I never had a drink before," I said,

"but, how I do enjoy it."

I pulled the $350,000 string of pearls

out of the waste-paper basket and said,

"Here, dearest, you take them back

to whoever from Chicago they belong to,

"and tell him, tell them all,

that Daisy's changed her mind."

Daisy's changed her mind!

Next day you married Tom Buchanan,

without so much as a shiver.

You know what Jordan did?

She ran a cold tub

and dropped me into it, dress and all.

And I couldn't stop crying

but I wouldn't let go of your letter.

I hung onto it and hung onto it.

Until it came to pieces in the water...

Melted away like snow.

Why? Why didn't you wait for me?

Because.

Rich girls don't marry poor boys,

Jay Gatsby.

Haven't you heard?

Rich girls don't marry poor boys!

Well, I see the Chester Beckers

are here.

And the Leeches.

There's that man Bunsen.

I knew him at Yale.

How are you?

Despised him.

The Hornbeams, Willie Voltaire.

How are you?

Nice to see you.

Thank you.

Good God, look!

A clan of Blackbucks in the corner.

- Flipping their noses up.

- Practically all of East Egg here.

- Hello.

- Lsmays, how are you?

Mr Chrystie, sir, how are you?

Nice to see you.

My wife, Daisy. Jordan Baker.

Mr and Mrs Chrystie.

Hammerheads, too.

- Look, Beluga, the tobacco importer.

- And Beluga's girls.

This is mixed company.

West Eggers. I recognise some of them.

Mrs Pole...

And Mr and Mrs Mulready

right behind her.

Look, darling, over there.

Cecil Roebuck.

Cecil Schoen, right there. This is Gulick

in the blue suit, the State Senator.

That's G Earl Muldoon,

whose brother strangled his wife.

There's James B "Rot-Gut" Ferret.

Look here, young Nick Carraway!

- Been seeing a lot of Gatsby lately.

- Nick!

- How are you, Nick?

- Fine.

- Nice to see you.

- Daisy, you look lovely.

- You too, Jordan.

- And me?

- I'm running away to Africa with Nick.

- Very nice.

These things excite me so! If you

want to kiss me, I'll arrange it for you.

Just mention my name.

Or present a green card...

Jay Gatsby. I'm so happy to see you.

- I believe we've met before.

- Absolutely right. I remember it well.

About three weeks ago.

Absolutely right. You were with Nick.

You must see many people

you know here.

- Yes.

- Actually, we don't know a soul here.

- Senator Evans. Mrs Buchanan.

- How do you do?

- And Mr Buchanan, the polo player.

- How do you do?

- Colonel.

- I've never seen so many celebrities!

I like that man,

with the sort of blue nose.

- He's a rather small producer.

- Well, I like him anyhow.

I'd rather not be "the polo player".

He'd rather look at all those

famous people incognito.

They're in some new Broadway show.

Go ahead. If you want to write down

any addresses, here's my pencil.

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