the dock · day 16 · morning

Midday Heat

The sun is directly overhead. Kevin and Jenny prepare the remaining corned beef as the tide begins to turn.

Kevin filed the replacement float needle and ran the engine under load to charge the radio battery, while Jenny inspected the heirloom seeds in the garden and found mold spreading rapidly.

🔧 Kevin10:48

Corned beef's the only thing that doesn't need cooking. Lucky us.

walk to the cottage, grab the tin opener and a pan, set the tin on the stove to warm through

💭 peek at the thought

The heat's brutal at noon. Tin'll be hot to handle but the meat'll warm through fast. Tide turning means the dock planks'll swell more — need to secure the dinghy line before the water takes the rotten boards.

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

🌿 Jenny10:48

It's a miracle in a tin. But Kevin, we need to talk about the spruce mast. The split at the step is still open and the epoxy hasn't cured.

walk to the cottage and follow him inside

💭 peek at the thought

I can feel my stomach cramping. I need to eat, but I can't let the mast just stay like that.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:50

Epoxy's trash in this heat. I'll cut a new tenon tomorrow. Drive wedges. Band it with the hose clamps from the engine spares. Mechanical hold.

open the tin of corned beef, tip it into the pan, set it on the stove to warm

💭 peek at the thought

She's right and I know it. The spar's supposed to hold the wind genny. If it fails we lose charging, radio, everything. Heat's kept the epoxy tacky for days. Need to cut a fresh tenon, drive wedges, band it with hose clamps or wire — mechanical lock, not glue.

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

🌿 Jenny10:50

Fine. Mechanical is safer. Just... don't wait until the wind picks up to do it.

set the bowl of boiled limpets and chopped sea beet on the table next to the stove

💭 peek at the thought

A mechanical hold is better than a chemical failure, but "tomorrow" is a vague word for a structural risk. Still, he's actually listening.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:52

Tomorrow. First light.

spoon corned beef into a bowl, add a handful of limpets and sea beet, carry it to the table and sit down to eat

💭 peek at the thought

She's not wrong. Wind genny's the only reliable charge we've got. If the mast goes in a blow we're dead in the water. Tomorrow morning, first light, before the heat softens the wood further.

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

🌿 Jenny10:52

First light. I'm holding you to that.

sit down at the table and start eating

💭 peek at the thought

Finally. Protein. I hope the salt from the beet doesn't make me too thirsty before I check those seeds.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:54

Kevin — eat in silence, watching the steam rise from the bowl

💭 peek at the thought

Good food. Simple. She's eating. That's something.

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

🌿 Jenny10:54

It's actually decent. The sea beet cuts through the grease.

take a slow bite and look at him

💭 peek at the thought

This silence is heavy. It's like we're both afraid that if we say something real, the whole island will just sink.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:56

Salt helps.

keep eating, not meeting her eyes

💭 peek at the thought

She's watching me. Waiting for something. I don't know what.

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

🌿 Jenny10:56

Jenny — look down at the bowl and eat in silence

💭 peek at the thought

He's retreating again. Back into the shell. I can't do this orbiting thing for another eleven months.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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