Page 96 - The Great Gatsby

86 The Great Gatsby The funeral 87

There was one thing to be done before I left. It was difficult
and unpleasant, but I wanted to !cave things tidy, and not just
hope that the sea would carry my rubbish away. I saw Jordan
Baker, and talked over and around what had happened to us
togcthcr, and what happened afterwards to me.
She lay perfectly still, listening, in a big chair. She was
dressed to play golf, and her hair was thc color of an autumn
leaf. When l had finished, she told me without comment that
she was engaged to another man. I doubted thar, although
there were severa] she could have married whenever she wanted.
For just a minute I wondered if I was making a mistake, then I
thought it ali over again quickly, and got up to say goodbye.
'You did turn me down, you know,' she said suddenl y. 'On
the telephone. l don't care at ali for you now, but it was a new
experience for me, and I felt a litde dazed for a while.'
We shook hands.
She went on, 'Oh, and do you remember a conversation we
had once about driving a car? You said a bad driver was only
safe until she met anorher bad driver. Well, I met another bad
driver, didn't I? It was carelcss of me to makc such a wrong
gucss. l thought you were rather an honesr person. l rhought
you were secretly proud of that.'
'l'm thirty,' I replied. 'l'm five years too old to lie to myself
and call it honesty.'
She didn't answer. Angry, and half in lovc wirh her, and
enormously sorry, I turned away.

Onc aftcrnoon late in Octobcr, I saw Tom Buchanan, walking
ahead of me along Fifth Avenue. I slowed up to avoid
overtaking him, but he saw me and walked back, holding out
1 could only remember, without anger, that Daisy hadn't senl
a message ora flower. his hand.