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Christmas looked a little different for Stamford that year than it did in other years. There weren't as many decorations as there used to be hanging from the lampposts and storefronts, and there were signs advertising raised prices on certain goods rather than lowered for the holiday season. Even the snow looked a little more sloshy and muddy rather than fluffy and pure white.
But while the city may have looked a little more glum than usual, the same couldn't be said for its residents. The people of Stamford retained hearty smiles as they passed by one another on the streets, waving and giving out cries of, "Merry Christmas!" Things were beginning to grow harder for them ever since Wall Street crashed, but that could never bring down their Christmas spirit. And there was one person in Stamford who felt it the strongest.
Emelia Gatsby had a spring in her step as she skipped down the street, her hand squeezed in her father's and the other waving at everyone she passed.
"Merry Christmas, Mr. O'Hanlon!" the six-year-old called to the man across the street.
Mr. O'Hanlon turned to wave back and said, "And a Merry Christmas to you as well!"
Emmy put her arm down then let out a grunt as she tugged on her dark red coat.
"Daddy, my coat is feeling much too tight again," she said with a pout.
Nick Carraway looked down at her and asked, "It is?"
Emmy nodded with an affirmative hum. "I simply don't understand. It used to fit perfectly. It made me feel so fancy when I walked outside." She made a small sashay of her coat, twisting her body from side to side so it swiveled in the other direction. "Why do you suppose it's so tight now? Is it out of fashion?"
Nick cracked a smile as he let out a laugh. "No, darling. It just means that it's too small for you, which means that you need to stop growing." He ruffled his daughter's hair and listened as her giggling rang through his ears.
Once Nick pulled back, Emmy asked, "Could I ask Santa for a new coat when I see him?"
"Of course you can. But I thought you were going to ask for the dollhouse you saw in the toy store."
"I want to ask for that too. But a new coat would help me look very fashionable, especially if it's in style. Don't you agree, Daddy?"
Nick couldn't help but laugh to himself at how much his daughter was like her other father, Jay Gatsby. She was still a little girl, but she acted just like a New York socialite. She seemed to know everything there was to know about how the other half lived, and she took up their lifestyle in stride. Nick didn't even mind her affinity for all things "fancy," as it made her look at life with bright eyes and seize the day however she could.
Giving Emmy a chuckle, he said, "Of course it would. You can ask Santa for whatever you like, Emmy."
Emmy let out a small squeal. "Wonderful!" She tugged on Nick's arm and tried pulling him ahead, her body moving ahead of his. "Come on, Daddy! We have to see him before he leaves!"
"Emelia, Santa's going to be at the department store all day. You'll see him very soon. But we have to stop at the bakery first, remember? I want to surprise Father with some treats for when he gets home from work."
Emmy turned to look at the bakery window beside them, seeing the cake and gingerbread house displays set up for all to see.
She made a small gasp at Nick and said, "Oh, yes! How could I forget?" Emmy made a beeline for the bakery door and pushed it open. "Santa will simply have to wait. Gingerbread cookies are a must!"
Emmy was overwhelmed by the smells of dough and sweet flavors that greeted her when she walked inside. The bakery ovens roared to life around her while the already-made treats were set up on display in glass cases underneath the front counter.
Emmy pressed her hands on one of them and stood up on her toes to see over the counter. A stout man with a large mustache stood beside the cash register but looked up when he heard the bell over his front door ring. He turned to his customers and gave them a bright smile, moving away from the register to stand face to face with them.
"Ah, Mr. Carraway! It's always lovely to see you."
"Good afternoon, sir."
The baker looked down at Emmy's smiling face before him and took a step back. "And who do we have with us today, huh?"
"My name is Emelia Daisy Gatsby. But that is much too much for a person to say, so you may call me Emmy," Emmy said with a small bounce on the balls of her feet, reciting it as if she had rehearsed it.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Emmy," the baker said, "Now what can I do for you today?"
"We would like three of your finest gingerbread cookies please."
"Well, I can certainly do that. They're still cooking in the oven, though, so you'll have to wait a few minutes for them."
"That's very alright, sir." Emmy turned back to Nick and leaned into his side, giving a small squeal into his coat. "Gingerbread cookies fresh out of the oven! This must be the best bakery in all of Stamford, Daddy!"
"Well, I certainly like to think so."
Emmy pulled herself out of his coat and began looking around the area, her body giving a small jump when she noticed something at the back of the bakery. She tilted her head with furrowed brows when she noticed a girl dressed all in gray standing by the opposite counter, her fingers tapping on the glass as if she was counting. It was difficult to get a good look at her face since her head was hooded, but Emmy was able to see that she was around her age and had a rag doll tucked against her chest.
Curious, she pulled away from Nick and skipped over to the girl, standing a little too close for comfort to her.
"Hello," she said in a chipper voice, making the girl jump.
Her pale face turned to look at Emmy, and she seemed to nervously chew on one of her nails as she clung to her doll tighter.
"H-H-Hello," she said in a quiet voice.
"What's your name?"
The girl turned away and looked back towards the glass case, shaking her head as her eyes trained downward.
Emmy scrunched up her lips. "Don't you have a name?"
"My parents say I'm not s'posed to talk to strangers."
"Oh...Well, mine say that too. But strangers are grownups. You're a kid like me. Here." Emmy held out her hand with a beaming grin, "My name is Emelia Daisy Gatsby. But that is much too much for a person to say, so you may call me Emmy. There! Now, we couldn't possibly be strangers!"
The girl stared at her hand for a moment before reaching out her own to shake it. "I'm Kate."
"A pleasure to meet you, Kate," Emmy said, taking on the same tone the baker had when he said it to her.
Her eyes turned over to the case beside them, and a long gasp left her throat when she saw the tray of fudge bars displayed in a line like fallen dominos on the other side.
"Look at all the fudge! I've always wanted to try some. People that go to parties in New York always have fudge bars at dessert because they're very fancy." Emmy turned to Kate and added, "Are you buying any fudge?"
Kate looked down and shook her head. "We don't have enough for 'em."
Emmy's face fell at her words, bringing her to furrow her brows at her. "'Don't have enough?'"
Kate shook her head again. "My parents said that we need to take care of what we have since there isn't a lot of money anymore. So we can't celebrate Christmas like we used to. We couldn't get a tree or decorations this year, so our house looks really sad. And..." Kate looked around the bakery before leaning in close to Emmy, making her voice even quieter, "I heard my parents talking when I wasn't s'posed to, and they said we might not even be able to have presents for me or my brother or sister."
Emmy let out a long, scandalized gasp. "No presents for Christmas? But that...that's terrible! Doesn't Santa give presents to everyone?"
Kate shrugged. "I thought so. Maybe Santa doesn't have a lot of money anymore either."
"Kate!" a voice said, bringing the girls to look towards the other side of the bakery.
The baker faced them from behind his counter, holding up a small bag. "Here's the rolls for your parents, sweetheart."
Kate walked over to the counter and placed some change on it before taking the bag. "Thank you, sir." She turned to Emmy and added, "It was nice to meet you, Emmy."
Emmy watched with a sullen face as Kate walked out the bakery door, pressing both the bag and her doll to her chest as if they were all she had. Her mind was so lost in her thoughts that she barely heard Nick's voice calling to her from the other side of the room.
"Emmy!"
Emmy shook her head and turned to her father, seeing him hold his own brown bag as he waved her over.
"Are you ready to meet Santa?"
"O-Oh! Yes, of course." Emmy found it more difficult to sound chipper than she thought, as the sudden dip her mood had taken surprised her.
As she took Nick's hand, she said, "We've kept Santa waiting long enough." She turned to the baker and added, "Thank you for the gingerbread, sir."
"Merry Christmas, little lady."
"Yes...Merry Christmas."
Emmy turned out of the bakery with her father, unable to shake Kate's face out of her mind.
~
Santa was growing closer to Emmy as she moved along the department store line to meet him, her head poking around the other children and adults standing ahead of her. When she saw a flash of bright red in her path and heard a loud, jolly laugh, she knew he was within her grasp.
Emmy had insisted that she stand on the line by herself since Santa didn't hold grownups on his lap, so Nick had been resorted to standing beside Santa's throne with a patient smile. Now that it was becoming her turn, Emmy suddenly wished she had a hand to hold.
Once she was face to face with Santa himself, she took a gulp and slowly walked over to him, keeping her eyes on the floor.
Santa took her in his arms and picked her up, setting her down on his thigh.
"Ho ho ho! And what's your name, little girl?" he asked.
With her head lowered, Emmy gave her signature greeting in a slight melancholy tone. "My name is Emelia Daisy Gatsby. But that is much too much for a person to say, so you may call me Emmy."
Santa made a quick chuckle. "Well, you certainly don't seem very happy to see Santa today, Emmy."
Emmy finally picked her head up so she could make eye contact with him. "Oh, but I am! Well...I was. You see, I was going to ask you for the dollhouse in the toy store window and a new coat that is much in style, but...I met a girl named Kate in the bakery today. And she said that you won't be able to give her or her brother and sister presents this year."
Santa's face suddenly grew serious as he looked into her quivering eyes, bringing him to pull her in closer to his chest. "Is that so?"
Emmy nodded. "She heard her parents say so. She said that their house isn't even decorated for Christmas because they need to have money, and she thinks that's why you can't give her family presents too. But Santa...it's simply tragic to not have presents for Christmas. And she looked so sad when I saw her today.
”So if you could, I want to use my Christmas wish on Kate and her family. I want them to have the most beautiful house in Stanford and as many presents as you're able to give them. I don't want Kate to be sad anymore."
Santa stared at Emmy for a moment, as if thinking over her words. His face softened up by the second, but he kept his voice low so she could hear the sincerity in them.
"That's a very big wish you're asking for, Emmy."
Emmy nodded in both understanding and disappointment.
Santa tapped his finger over her heart. "But it's also a very kind one. That wish comes from the heart, and I take very good care of those. I'll see what I can do for your friend Kate and her family."
Emmy's vigor returned in an instant, as she opened her mouth in a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Throwing her arms around Santa, she said, "Oh, thank you! Thank you, Santa! I knew it couldn't be true! I knew you would give her presents after all!" She hopped off his lap and gave him a quick wave. "Merry Christmas, Santa!"
"And a Merry Christmas to you as well, Emmy."
Emmy ran over to Nick and took his hand, barely noticing that his face had taken on the same sullenness hers had earlier.
She tugged on his arm and led him out of the store, saying as loudly as she could, "Isn't Santa the most wonderful man in the world, Daddy?"
~
Emmy sat on the floor of her bedroom several days later, arranging her dolls around a porcelain white tea set. As she propped up each doll to sit upright, she said, "Now don't complain that I've sat you next to Miss Manning, Miss Rutherford. You'll simply have to get along for Agnes's sake."
"Emmy Angel, would you come here for a moment?" Gatsby called from the kitchen.
"Yes, Father!" Emmy turned to her dolls and added, "Remember to be polite, ladies."
She stood up, ran out of her room, and made her way into the kitchen. Gatsby and Nick sat at the table waiting for her, their hands folded as they gave her soft glances.
"Yes, Father?" Emmy asked.
Gatsby said, "Now Daddy and I learned about something very important the other day, and we think you can help us with it." He paused to give a knowing glance to Nick before turning back to Emmy, "Santa Claus told us what your Christmas wish to him was."
Emmy staggered back to gasp then placed her hands on her hips in a glare. "He did? But Christmas wishes are supposed to be secret! They're only for Santa!" She turned to the side and crossed her arms with a huff, "No wonder he's never invited to fancy parties in New York. Gossips are no fun at parties."
"Well, your wish was a very special one," Nick said to recover, "So he made an exception to tell us since it was so big."
"Yes, he thought that the three of us—meaning me, Daddy, and you—could help him make it come true," Gatsby added, "See, he gave us a tree and some Christmas decorations from up in the North Pole, and he wants us to surprise Kate and her family by putting them all up in their house. Would you want to come and help us do that?"
Emmy let out a squeal as she jumped up and down on the floor. "Yes, yes, yes! I will absolutely, positively help if Santa wants me to! Let's go right now!"
The Gatsby-Carraways were quick to their feet and left their apartment to drive off through Stamford. Gatsby had acquired the address from a former associate of his that he'd asked to help, so the drive was fairly quick and not too far from their home.
They soon found a small house outside of the main square in town, where several boxes of supplied Christmas decorations and a tree lay waiting outside the door. The family managed to sneak into the house with the knowledge that Kate's family wasn't home, allowing them to get to work.
They set up a tree and covered it with ornaments then littered the house with garlands and wreaths that shimmered in the natural light that came in. Once they finished, they waited before the door with eager smiles, each one quivering in excitement.
Kate's family soon arrived home from their errand, as the door swung open to let five people into the house. Once they saw their guests and their new environment, they stopped in their places and stared at everything with wide eyes and gaping smiles.
"Surprise!" Emmy said as she waved at them.
Kate's father, his head constantly looking around like an owl, said in a gruff voice, "What's all this then?"
"A certain St. Nicholas told us your plight, old sport, and asked us to bring you some Christmas cheer," Gatsby said, slightly bowing in greeting.
Kate's older brother pointed at the tree and said, "Look at the tree!" He ran over to check it out, Kate's younger sister following in tow.
Kate's mother let out a stammer before saying, "I don't know what to say. Thank you, sirs. Truly."
"Oh, don't thank us. It was her idea," Nick said, gesturing to Emmy.
All eyes turned towards Emmy, who gave them a proud, beaming grin.
Kate stepped forward with wide eyes and asked, "You told Santa to help us?"
Emmy nodded with an affirmative hum. "I didn't want him to forget you."
It was the first time she had ever seen Kate smile, but something told her that it wouldn't be the last.
"Thank you," she said in a small voice.
Kate's father gestured to Emmy's parents and said, "Won't you stay for a little while? It's the least we can do for you."
The Gatsby-Carraways spent the rest of the afternoon with their new friends, sharing together in the joy they had each brought to each other.
~
Emmy reached under her Christmas tree and pulled out one last box, placing it in the middle of the rest of her messy pile of presents.
"What do you think it is, Emmy?" Nick asked from the parlor sofa he sat on with Gatsby.
"Oh, I couldn't possibly know!" Emmy placed her hand on her head and leaned back in a dramatic pose, "The suspense is killing me!"
"Well, open it so you can find out," Gatsby said through a chuckle.
Emmy pried open the box and gasped at what she found inside. She reached in and pulled out a sleek brown coat with black buttons down the side.
"A new coat!" she said, taking to her feet. As she put it on, she spun in a circle and held out her arms to get a better look. "Oh, it's beautiful! It doesn't feel tight at all! And it's very in style. Brown is a very chic color. But..."
Emmy's smile faded as she lowered her arms and slumped her shoulders. "Something doesn't feel right."
Nick and Gatsby exchanged furrowed brows at each other before turning to Emmy.
The former asked, "What do you mean, darling?"
Emmy slid her coat off and held it in her hands, staring at it for a moment. Once she figured it out, she turned her head up to her fathers.
"Can we go to Kate's house?"
The family didn’t waste time in climbing into Gatsby's car and riding back to Kate's house, where Emmy insisted she go by herself. She knocked on the door and waited a moment before it swung open to reveal Kate herself.
"Merry Christmas, Kate," Emmy said in a gentle voice.
"Oh, Merry Christmas, Emmy! You were right! Santa gave us presents after all! Even my parents got presents! Do you want to come in? I got a new doll to play with."
"No, that's alright. I just wanted to give you another present."
Emmy held out her new coat to her with a small smile. "Here. This is for you. Santa gave it to me by mistake."
Kate's eyes widened at the sight, and she slowly reached out to her hands to touch it, as if it would fade away in an instant. Once she grabbed it, she asked, "This is for me?"
Emmy nodded, her cheeks turning a rosy red the longer she stood there.
Kate slipped on the coat and looked at it from side to side the way Emmy did.
"Do you like it? It's very stylish. Everyone in New York is wearing brown coats like that," Emmy said.
Kate took no time in throwing her arms around her and squeezing her tight. Emmy did the same, holding her first friend to her for as long as she could.
"I love it. Thank you, Emmy," Kate said in her soft voice.
"You're very welcome." Emmy let go and added, "Now, you'll be the most stylish girl in all of Stamford!"
"Kate dear! Come inside before you catch cold!" Kate's mother called from inside.
"I'm coming!"
Kate turned back to the door to find Emmy running back to her car with a wave, calling, "Merry Christmas!"
Once she shut the car door and snuggled into the back seat, Emmy let out a contented sigh. "This has been the best Christmas ever."