Ask someone on the street

Steadying yourself on your cane once more, you feel your stomach rumble, and you eventually turn to a middle aged man you’re about to pass.

“Um, excuse me?” The man stops, and looks a bit startled to be addressed by you. “Im new in town, are there any restaurants nearby? Maybe a Diner?”

The man looks you up and down for a moment wide eyed, and opens his mouth to say something before closing it and thinking a moment more “i don’t mean to be rude son, but… what’s your name?”

You’re taken aback at that, and reply “James… oh uh, James Gardner” the mans mouth purses a bit, and he looks uncomfortable as he glances around the street “well I suppose you’ll be looking for John then” you’re about to tell him that you’ve no idea who he’s talking about, but he continues before you have the chance “Lucky for you he usually gets back from the House around this time, probably can be found in Gloria’s, by the docks, you can’t miss it.”

This gives you more questions than answers, and as the man begins to walk away, you hobble after him, calling out “Wait! I-“ the man turns and calls back “one last thing, son, if i were you…” his face holds a nervous expression, almost… fearful? “… well if i were you, I’d get a hotel room.” He gestures to a four story building near the end of the street, and walks off, continuing on his way.

You want to chase after him, ask him to explain what the hell was talking about, but his words hold a sense of finality to them, and he’s already given you a destination.

You mouth the name, “Gloria’s”

The waterline is only a few streets to the north, and it’s a short walk that brings you near the docks. a stone fence stands separating the sidewalk and a thin rocky beach, to the east of you a large wooden marina has a surprising number of white sailboats docked there.

Only the most distant western skies now have an orange glow, and in the darkness the fog covered black waters of the lake is a horrible thing to behold. Somehow even worse though, are the dark trees just visible on the other side, standing ominously there, almost looking as if they’re growing out of the water.

You can feel your goosebumps, and the knots in your stomach as you stand there, clinging to the cobblestone fence white-knuckled. You’re startled for a moment as you look down at the fence, only now realizing you had crossed the street, coming FAR closer to the water than you had intended.

Shaking yourself out of it, you hobble across the street as fast as you can and turn your head eastward towards the docks, browsing the signs of the waterfront businesses. Eventually, you spot the neon sign of a classic Railcar Diner, the name “Gloria’s” only barely glowing, as if the sign was on it’s last legs.

You make your way to the Diner, and opening the door into the brightly lit interior, you find its a cozy place. The smell of coffee, hamburgers and french fries hang thickly in the air. Immediately in front of you is a long countertop and around half a dozen barstools, in the back you can see the small kitchen where an old woman is cooking, Gloria you presume. On either side of the train car are a number of red dining booths.

The diner is relatively busy even at this hour it seems, and about a dozen patrons are scattered about the room.

You take an unoccupied bar stool, setting your suitcase beside it and leaning your cane against the counter. The old woman in the back spots you, and she gives you a cheerful wave and a smile that you return.

You take a standing menu thats sitting on the counter, beginning to look it over.

It’s not long before a waitress comes up to you, a woman with curly hair and sun beaten dusky skin. The waitress looks at you confused, and begins “oh- hey buddy, uh… where’s your paren-“ you turn to look at her proper, doing nothing to conceal the annoyance spread across your face.

Her eyes bulge and her mouth hangs open in horror before a deep blush fills her cheeks “oh I’m so sorry, you just look so… uh, whu-what can i get for you this evening?”

You’re starving, and you order two hamburgers with a side of hash browns from the embarrassed waitress before she turns from you and makes her way behind the counter. Before she’s out of earshot, you call out “hey, do you know if… John’s around?” The waitress turns to you confused and giggles, her embarrassment apparently forgotten “there’s no shortage of men named “John” in this town sweetie” you think fast, and elaborate, saying weakly “my name’s James Gardner”

The moment you say your last name the mood in the Diner shifts, all conversation stops, and you can feel many pairs of eyes suddenly trained on you. Even the bright yellow lighting seems to cool, and a shiver runs up your spine at the tension in the room.

The silence is only broken by a teenager in one of the back booths, he looks around at the Diner apparently as confused as you are, before he loudly exclaims “Bless my soul, it’s Harry Potter!!!” Some of the younger people in the room understand his reference, and you laugh with them for a time, thankful as the mood slowly returns to normal.

The waitress for her part, doesn’t even respond to you as she quickly shuffles into the kitchen. You think to yourself this is likely a dead-end, but you’re glad to be proven wrong as a tall, grizzled looking native man, wearing blue jeans and a button up shirt approaches you.

The man reaches a hand out to shake yours, and you return the gesture as he speaks in a deep friendly voice “well good evening Sir! It’s nice to finally meet you. I was beginning to fear i had lost a job!” He grins before his expression suddenly turns sheepish, and he quickly corrects himself “well i… i was sorry to hear about your fathers passing, and I’m sorry for your loss. It must be hard”

You let out a short dry laugh “don’t be. I wasn’t a fan” he lets out a low whistle and takes a seat beside you saying “well okay then, not my business.” An awkward moment passes before you speak “I’m sorry but, I have to be honest, I’m not… exactly sure who you are…” he turns his head a bit and chuckles, responding “what? Really? Hah, well I’m John, the groundskeeper, your groundskeeper! I figured that’s why you were up here to check out the place, figure there must be some paperwork to sort out and all that.”

You inquire slowly, relived “the place the… Estate?” He chuckles again “of course! Your father was paying me to keep an eye on the place for what must be seventeen?- no, eighteen years! He moved out feels like the second you were born! And well… y’know, when your mom passed.”

You notice Johns eyes turn downcast, and they linger on the antique emerald wristwatch you wear.

You speak almost in a whisper “did she… die in childbirth?” He looks startled at this, and his tone is incredulous “something like that… you didn’t know!?” You shake your head “my father didn’t tell me much about anything, in fact i only learned about the Estate a few days” you pull out the envelope tucked into your suit and present it to him.

Your burgers and hash browns arrive shortly after, and you begin to wolf down the delicious meal as John skims the Deed, looks sadly at the picture, and reads the barely a paragraph your father had written you as explanation.

“Fuck man, oh, pardon the language. Some father he was.” He shakes his head grimly. “Lucky you ran into me, most people don’t like talking about the old mansion, I’m the only one who’s been up there in nearly twenty years. Well, except for some cleaner guys maybe fifteen years back” you give him a questioning look as you’re mid bite, he shrugs “there was some mold i think” John return the envelope back to you and you tuck in back into your pocket.

Some time later you’ve finished your meal, feeling a little too full, and you step out if the diner with john into the now chilly night air. “Well, it’s not that long a drive…” he sounds a little apprehensive but he continues “I suppose i could drive you up there to take a quick look at the place before headin’ back to town. It’s… no trouble.” He doesn’t sound very enthusiastic about the idea, and you question him “is something wrong?”

He turns to you “well… I don’t usually like hanging around there after dark” you give him an unimpressed look and he gestures wildly with his hands before saying jokingly “what? It’s a big mansion in the middle of nowhere, it’s creepy!”

You can’t help but grin a little, “well…”