Chapter 2
Jack and Rose stepped out of the cab, among the bustling streets of New York. Jack paid for his fare, then joined his wife. They began to search for Jesse, even if this city was large and bustling. Rose pointed towards a theatre, but Jack shook his head.
"I don't think that is Jesse's cup of tea. At least not yet, anyway. Come on, I think I know where he's at."
[Nick Carraway narrating]
In the summer of 1922, the tempo of the city approached hysteria...
Jesse and his nephew Jack arrived in bustling downtown Manhattan in their Dodge Brothers convertible.
"This is as far Father will allow me to go." he says.
"That's fine. Hopefully I'll run into Jack in this city sometime." Jesse says, groaning as he stepped out of the car. He places his hands on the car door. "Drive safe. Take care of your aunt."
"See you, Uncle." Jack waved, then drove off, back towards Queens. Jesse looked around at the busy New York, trying to figure out where to begin, to find this elusive 'Jay Gatsby' character. This was indeed a different time even for ten years...
[Nick]
A fever pitch of buying and selling...
Stocks hit record peaks. And Wall Street boomed, in a steady golden roar...
[IMAGES OF DECADENT NEW YORK FADE IN, ILLUSTRATING NICK'S V.O.,
All the while Jesse looked around at his surroundings once more.
Dancing girls, speakeasies, bootleg kings, fat cats counting fresh fortunes, and the stock market climbing up, up, up...!
The parties were bigger; the shows were broader; the buildings were higher; the morals were looser; and the ban on alcohol had backfired... making the liquor cheaper. Wall Street was luring the young and ambitious.
Not too far from where Jesse was standing, in a sea of boater-style hats, they crowd a busy Manhattan streets. Soon, one of the wearer gazes up, and appeared to be no older than Jesse.
[Nick]
And I was one of them.
Jesse took a deep breath, then ballooned his cheeks. Newspaper boys yelling out headlines, cars honking incessantly, and through the crowds the man carefully approaches Jesse. Jesse turned, making the man flinch a bit. The man nervously gave a hand to Jesse.
"I'm Nick Carraway. And you are-"
"I'm Jesse Williams." Jesse gave the man a half-smile, which made the man blush a little.
"Ah. So you're here too, huh? Making your own fortunes, buying stocks in this fair city of New York?" Nick asked. Jesse only laughed.
"No. I have a sister here-" Without warning Nick grabbed Jesse's wrist, then called for a cab.
"Whoa. Wait. Where're you taking me?" Jesse asked, trying to fight this stranger's grip.
"Come. I rented a place just twenty miles from here, on Long Island-" Jesse's ears perked. Long Island! That must be the place where Jay Gatsby lived. Surely this stranger must know someone by that name. Jesse thought, but he was careful not to show his intentions to this man, as they left the hustle and bustle of New York.
...
They soon arrived, at a run-down looking building, which was surrounded by enormous mansions. This one looked to be in rough shape than his own house back in the Southwest.
"Welcome to West Egg." Nick says, paying the taxi fare, then tugged at his coat flaps. "This was once a forgotten grounds-keeper cottage." Jesse tugged at his coat flaps, then fixed his hair before following. Nick opened the door. "To get started, I bought a dozen volumes on credit, banking, and investments. Surely, you have heard of these, have you?" Nick picks up one of the red and gold-bound bonds book.
"Please, make yourself at home, good sir." Nick sets the book down, then turns on the radio. Jesse sat down on a couch, then places his hands in front of him.
"The stock market hit another record high today!"