John couldn’t feel any effect from the pills. But he started talking.
“See over there, to the west beyond the trees? It’s the old Decoursey Yard of the L &N Railroad. It was huge. Now it’s mostly abandoned and deserted, but the CSX main line between Cincinnati and Corbin runs through it.” He was like that. He knew odd things, but somehow they didn’t add up to much that anyone was interested in.
“We should hike up there and see it,” Jennifer said. She was only wearing flip-flops.
He kept his eyes on Heather. “You might not want to. There’s a story, where sometimes people see a man standing on the tracks, waving a red lantern. Like a warning. They say he’s dressed in railroad clothes from the nineteen-thirties. Nobody knows who he is. But he waves that red lantern across the tracks at the old Decoursey Yard, and when he does, the railroad shuts down for a while. The old timers say the red lantern means there’s going to be a wreck. So they stop the trains.” He paused, and saw they were paying attention to him. “So listen…No trains. That means the man must have been seen tonight. He’s right up that riverbank, over the trees.”
“That’s a great story,” Heather said.
“Trains are yesterday,” Zack said.
John’s stomach was feeling the drinks. He should have eaten something. He set the glass aside and wondered how to keep Heather’s attention. He thought about talking her into the Zodiac and they could go off together, get away from these bores. The play list from the Reagan years ran on. Huey Lewis and the News gave way to Journey. I Want to Know What Love Is. John had always thought the song was a maudlin oldie. Now it filled his heart and he thought, yes, Heather, I do want to know. He tried to catch her eye.