The snow crunched under my leather boots as I walked up the stone sidewalk that led up to the abandoned ruins of Gatsby's once-beautiful mansion. The dead grass leading up to the piles of rubble was all that was left of the building.

The weight of Daisy's letter in my pocket brought back many memories of the past few years, Tom and Jay Gatsby.

I had immediately agreed to take Pammy in after reading my cousin's letter two months before now, treating her as if she was my own daughter.

My breath clouded in front of me as I pulled out the letter, peeling off the seal that held the letter together. The letters were DF punctured into the wax seal, letting me know for certain that it was from my cousin. A small smile lifted my lips as I recognized her familiar handwriting then began to read her letter.

Dear Nick,

I know that Tom, Pammy, and I disappeared in rather a foolish and cowardly manner, and I apologize for that. Tom was insistent that we leave as soon as we were physically able.

It killed me - splintered my heart into a million pieces knowing I could not attend the funeral of the man who had made me feel complete and so full of life and love. If I was able, I would apologize to Jay Gatsby, or as much as he would hear from me. I would understand if he wanted nothing to do with me after I blatantly told him I did not ever love him - that I loved Tom, which was untrue. I had always loved Jay even if I never openly admitted it. I hoped that Gatsby had some awareness of my feelings for him; if only a little, it would mean the world to me. It was partially my fault that he was dead; he took the blame for me, so I could be happy and that Tom would not suspect anything more than he already did. By now, you are presumably sick of hearing of my ramblings about my splintered feelings for a dead man. Enough of my useless heart dwelling on fading memories. I will cut my useless chatter and return to the main point of this letter.

A few months ago, Tom and I promptly issued a divorce. He was having an affair on top of affair, on top of another affair, and it had become too heart-wrenching for me to know he had been with another woman for the past weeks. His neglect of our daughter and pretended that she did not exist was the main reason why I left him. I finally saw the brute of a man that he was… or had constantly been. I believe the main reason why I stayed with Tom is that of his wealth and power to bend the rules to whatever he or I demanded.

I hope this is not too much to burden you with, but it would cause me great relief if you would care for Pammy for the next few years until I am able to develop a stable life for myself. I understand if this is an inconvenience for you but I am asking, on Pammy's behalf, for you to think over my request for a few days, a week even, then write me a response. If you accept my offer, I will miss my Pammy dearly, but it will settle my anxious heart knowing she is in a safe home with a man who will love her unconditionally.

Again, I apologize for how I have acted these last few years', it was unacceptable. Tom's vulgar and poisonous attitude and manner had spread to myself and I caught myself acting much like he did, and I did not want to raise my daughter around that type of profanity.

Nick, I hope you will strongly consider my request, Pammy and I will be anxiously waiting for a reply.

With love,

Daisy Fay

I then wrote my own letter to her, explaining to Daisy that, of course, I would take Pammy in for the time being. I also briefly mentioned that I accepted her apology and was sorry to hear about what happened between her and Tom.

I picked Pammy up the following week and she was now staying with me in my home, a few miles up from East Egg on Long island.

As I looked out over the bay, my mind whirled with all the decisions I had been forced to make in the short span of the last few years. In the end, I was thankful for what I had endured, it has helped me become a better person after all.