"Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting burned and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity?
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city…"
Jack wasn't entirely sure if his phone's shuffle mode had a deeply ironic sense of timing or if maybe the gods were sending him some sort of a message, but it needed to be said that the hottest day of the year so far didn't need a themed soundtrack.
He skipped the selection on until he found something a bit colder, wishing that the music could do something to sooth his boiling skin. He was wearing what he considered to be the bare minimum: khaki shorts, a blue tank top and sandals, anything less and he'd be naked.
Which was an enticing idea for when he finally got home, but for now he was trekking beside the River Thames on the first weekend of the British summer holidays.
He wasn't sure when it'd happened, but the heat of the summer which had never bothered him much when he was a kid back in his native Pennsylvania now left him a melting, unpleasantly sweaty mess once the thermometer needle reached the mid-eighties (or around 30°C in British currency).
He slipped from the large crowd gathered by the London Eye (the large Ferris wheel on the opposite bank of the river from the Houses of Parliament) and braced himself against the granite wall running along the Embankment as his head swam for a moment; he knew enough that he was starting to suffer from heat exhaustion.
Jack glanced around, spotting an ice cream truck parked on the edge of Jubilee Gardens - there was a line dozens long, but he'd have to give it a try.
He took one shaky step away from the wall, followed by another.
Alright, this isn't so bad… just one foot after the other, only another… nother… thherrr…
The world suddenly tilted and rushed toward him.
"…ey, you okay?"
Jack wasn't sure where he was for a moment. He blinked to clear the spots from his vision, dispelling enough to see that he was sat in the shade of a tree, surrounded by a small gathering of concerned pedestrians and tourists. A woman with blond hair, and a man with auburn, both of whom looked to be in their early twenties, had crouched beside him. They both wore matching expressions of concern.
Jack swallowed to clear his throat before he spoke.
"Where am I?"
"You face planted the pavement pretty hard over there, I think you might've keeled over from the heat." she explained.
And now that she'd mentioned it, the right side of his face felt sore, and a little raw.
"An ambulance is on the way so some paramedics can give you a check-up. How are you feeling at the moment, though?" the man beside the blonde woman asked. "Do you want us to call anyone? Is there anything we can get you?"
"You're a drink of water."
The green-eyed man smiled, confusedly. "What?"
The pistons in Jack's brain began to fire properly in that instant. "Um, I mean… I think I need a drink of water."
"That sounds like a good idea." the woman agreed and she threw a look to the other man, who vanished from Jack's still swimming field of vision.
The female paramedic frowned in concentration as she checked over Jack's vitals, the green of her NHS uniform a refreshing contrast to the clinical tones of the ambulance interior. The bottle of Highland Spring almost felt like manna from Heaven as it slid down Jack's throat.
"I don't believe there's anything to be worried about, but I want you to drink plenty of fluids for the next few hours, and don't put yourself under too much strain, okay?"
Jack nodded, giving her a relieved smile. "I will."
She smiled back reassuringly. "Now let's take a look at your cheek."
The white-haired man winced slightly as the grazed skin on the side of his face was cleaned of grit and dirt, and given a light treatment of anti-bacterial cream just in case. As he was tended to, Jack could see the two people who'd helped him, stood a respectful distance from the Ambulance.
"Almost as good as new." the paramedic reported, and gave Jack a hand to help him down from the interior of the vehicle. "As I said, drink plenty of fluids and take it easy. If you start to feel dizzy again, sit down on a stable surface, and if you can, either call for an ambulance or someone you know who can assist you."
He gave a cautious nod, wary of setting his head spinning again with anything more enthusiastic. "Thanks for the help." he dug into his wallet and pulled out a ten pound note. "Get yourselves something to drink, my treat. You must be boiling in those uniforms."
She gave him a grateful smile. "That's extremely kind of you sir, but not necessary. We've got air-con in the ambulance, as well as plenty of water." she made a quick glance towards the blonde woman and auburn-headed man, before speaking at a discreet volume. "I'm sure they'd appreciate the gesture."
Jack gave another subdued nod, and gave his thanks to the paramedics one final time. He slipped down from the rear door of the ambulance and watched as it drove off, before he returned to the two good Samaritans.
"How're you feeling? You seem more alert now… more 'with it'." the other man asked.
"Yeah, they said a bit of rest and getting some more water into me should do me good. Thanks for the help… I'm Jack."
"Astrid." the woman shook his hand, followed by the man.
"Hamish."
"Can I buy you guys a drink or something? I kinda owe you and I'm not going to take 'no' for an answer."
Hamish and Astrid traded an amused look.
"Sure." she nodded.
"There's probably a pub nearby we could head into" Hamish offered, a moment later he retrieved a phone from his pocket and began to check up pub listings on Google.
"Sounds like a plan." Jack gave them a beaming smile.
All Bar One on Chicheley Street had been less than five minutes' walk from where Jack had been tended to, and the three adults were able to locate a free table despite the busy summer crowds. Following the Paramedic's advice, Jack had opted for an apple-flavored fruit juice, whilst Hamish went for orange. Astrid had completed the fruit medley with a mango-flavored beverage.
"Thanks again guys, you've rekindled my faith in the kindness of awesome strangers." Jack grinned, holding his perspiring glass out for the others to clink in toast.
"You needed help; we weren't just going to leave you there." Hamish remarked and Astrid chimed in with her agreement.
The white-haired American released a sigh. "Sorry about screwing up your plans when I fainted on my ass like that."
"More like fainted on your face." Astrid quietly laughed, and Hamish flashed a smile as he chuckled.
"We were actually done with work for the day, and just making our way home." the auburn-haired man elaborated. "Our plans were basically 'catch the Underground home and crash out'."
Jack leaned back in his seat a little, taking a sip from his drink. "Well I guess I'm happy to have provided a bit of excitement then." he smirked over the edge of his glass. His azure eyes strayed to the menu stand on the table. "Did you guys want to get anything to eat while we're here? Seeing as you didn't have anything planned?"
Hamish and Astrid both looked at each in consideration for a moment, before Hamish gave a lazy shrug. "You know what? Sure. It's been a long, hot day… and I'm feeling I can't be bothered with defrosting the microwave meal at home."
The afternoon had flowed pleasantly into evening (although for safety sake Jack had stuck with non-alcoholic drinks for the duration at the bar), and the three expats had unwound a bit more over their meal (Jack having opted for buttermilk chicken wings, whilst Astrid had chosen the humus duo, and Hamish the Börek). During the span of their meal Jack had learned that the two Norwegians had emigrated to London to work for Haddock Construction, an international company which had started in Astrid and Hamish's homeland. Hamish worked in the architecture department, whilst Astrid worked in site management.
Likewise, the Norwegians had learned that Jack had relocated from the American state of Pennsylvania to pursue a career in childcare with the National Health Service, and had been enjoying a day off in the city when Jack's face had decided to have an argument with the pavement.
Astrid glanced at her watch and frowned. She traded the look for an apologetic smile as she turned to face Jack. "I wish I could stay a bit longer… but I should probably make sure I've fed Stormfly before it gets too late."
Jack gave a quizzical look.
"Stormfly is Astrid's Parakeet." Hamish supplied.
"Oh! Cool, well, give Stormfly my best." Jack smiled.
Astrid smiled brightly. "I will. Thank you for the drink Jack, it was nice meeting you."
"Likewise." the white-haired man smiled.
She briefly turned to her friend and colleague. "Send me a text when you're on your way? I'll leave the door unbolted."
"Sure." Hamish nodded, and they both watched as Astrid made her way out of the bar. Once she'd vanished from sight, Hamish checked the time on his phone before he turned a questioning look towards his dining companion.
"One more for the road?"
"Sure." Jack grinned. "Twist my arm behind my back."
Having finished their final round for the night, Hamish and Jack stepped out of All Bar One and began to amble leisurely towards the nearest entrance of Waterloo Station, just a block away.
"I'm guessing you guys have known each other for some time, I got the feeling there was a lot of history between you two."
Hamish smirked. "Yeah, I guess? We've known each other since we were teenagers, we went separate ways for a while when I was studying architecture, but she'd always wanted to work for the firm, and because it's the family business, I guess we were destined to work out of the London office, it's the most busy after the head office in Oslo."
"Cool." Jack nodded as they approached a set of pedestrian lights. "Have you guys been seeing each other long?"
Hamish looked a bit amused for a moment, before he shook his head with a smile. "We're friends but not boyfriend/girlfriend."
"Cool, well she's still a pretty cool friend to have."
"She is." Hamish nodded. He drew the two of them to a stop within sight distance of the marble entrance to the 169-year-old train station. "I get the feeling there's something you'd like to ask me." the architecture apprentice noted with a raised brow.
"Yeah… I was wondering if you might like to go out for a proper drink sometime? Hopefully without the heat stroke?"
Hamish chuckled and Jack felt his cheeks warming a little, the laugh wasn't one designed to humiliate, but simply revealed the green-eyed man's mirth. "Sure, are you doing anything tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow's good." Jack smirked.
A quick exchange of phone numbers followed, and after that further good-natured conversation as they entered the train station, and eventually bid goodbye as they made their ways home on separate London Underground lines. A change onto the District Line later, and Jack's phone chimed to let him know he'd received a new text message during a brief spell above ground near South Kensington. He unlocked his phone to see that it was a message from Hamish:
I'll text you the details
for tomorrow in the morning.
I don't know about you but
I think I'll need some more
water once I get home, the
Tube's boiling.
Jack chuckled and smiled to himself, firing off a quick message before the train disappeared back into the tunnel:
Sure thing.
See you tomorrow. :)
As the train rumbled further under London, Jack pulled up his playlist on his phone once more, and chuckled a little at his phone's diabolical sense of timing.
"I never meant to be so bad to you
One thing I said that I would never do
A look from you and I would fall from grace
And that would wipe the smiles right from my face.
Do you remember when we used to dance
And incidents arose from circumstance
One thing led to another and we were young
And we would scream together songs unsung.
It was the heat of the moment
telling me what my heart meant
the heat of the moment showed in your eyes…"
The End