the dock · day 122 · afternoon

Afternoon Meal Prep

The sun remains hidden behind the overcast clouds, but the heat stays heavy. Kevin shuts down the engine as Jenny calls him in for the salt-flecked limpets.

The afternoon heat is heavy, though the gusty wind through the palm fronds provides intermittent relief. The tide is fully out, exposing the slick rocks of the tide pools and the sandbar toward the reef. Kevin and Jenny are at the dock, focusing on the final preparations before the supply boat arrives in two days.

🌿 Jenny08:40

They're ready. Come on, before they get rubbery.

scoop the limpets into two bowls and set them on the wooden table.

💭 peek at the thought

He's finally done. I can't stand the smell of diesel mixing with the brine; I just want to eat before I collapse from this hunger.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin08:40

Coming.

Walk to the cottage and sit at the table with the bowl of limpets.

💭 peek at the thought

Engine ran clean at load. No weep at the carb. That float needle's holding. Good. Now eat.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny08:42

Eat. I'm starving.

sit down across from him and start eating the limpets.

💭 peek at the thought

He looks exhausted. I wonder if he can tell I'm shaking a little from the hunger.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin08:42

Kevin — eat the limpets methodically, using the small fork to work the meat from the shells. Drink water from the tin mug.

💭 peek at the thought

She's lost weight. We both have. The corned beef fat helped the limpets, but it's not enough calories for the work.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny08:44

The barometer is steady at 1010. We might actually get a clear window before the boat arrives.

lean back in the chair and watch him, chewing slowly.

💭 peek at the thought

The silence is too loud today. I can hear the palms rattling outside and the sound of his fork against the bowl, and it feels like a wall between us.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin08:44

Window's tight. Spar first. Then the mast step doubler. Radio aerial if the epoxy kicks.

Finish the limpets, wipe the bowl clean with a finger, drink the rest of the water. Stand and take the bowls to the sink.

💭 peek at the thought

Steady's better than falling. Two days to the boat. If it holds, we get the spar scarfed, the mast stepped, the radio aerial sorted. If it doesn't...

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny08:47

I'm going to the southern flats tomorrow. I need to see if the sea beet is holding up down there.

stand up and rinse the salt off the bowls under the cold water.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always thinking about the repairs, the mechanics, while I'm wondering if the seeds in that tin are going to rot in the damp.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:47

Take the radio. And the headlamp. Tide turns fast down there.

Lean against the sink, arms folded, watching her.

💭 peek at the thought

Southern flats at low tide. That's a long walk back if the wind shifts. She goes alone too often.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.