the keeper's cottage · day 202 · night

Dinner and the Shrimp Boat Lights

They sit at the cottage table eating boiled limpets with corned beef fat, the shrimp boat's running lights visible through the window moving along the horizon. The wind has picked up, rattling the porch door. The barometer holds steady at 1026 hPa. Kevin's letter to Tom lies half-written on the table beside the waterproof mailbag.

The supply boat St. Brendan arrived two days early, its running lights cutting through the overcast night as Kevin and Jenny watched from the cottage porch. Kevin identified the hull by its distinctive dock-damaged starboard rail, confirming Mickey Doyle at the helm. The early arrival suggests either a weather window or an unscheduled charter.

🔧 Kevin09:34

Boat's early. Running lights look like the *St. Brendan* — trust's usual charter. Could be weather pushing them, could be they've got our resupply and post both ways.

finish the limpets, wipe hands on trousers, walk to the porch and unhook the headlamp from its nail, step outside to watch the boat's approach angle relative to the dock

💭 peek at the thought

Shrimp boat's early. Two days ahead of schedule. Either the trust sent it special or the mainland weather window closed fast. Need to check if there's mail for us — Tom's letter in the bag, but if they've got post coming the other way, might be something from him. Ankle's throbbing under the brace. Barometer steady at 1026, wind backing northeast. Not a good angle for the dock landing.

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

🌿 Jenny09:36

It's too early. They're usually precise.

Push the bowl of limpets aside and stare at the half-written letter.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always looking at the horizon. I'm looking at the fungus in the trays and the half-finished letter on the table.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin09:36

Trust doesn't pay for early runs. Someone else chartered her, or the skipper's chasing a window before something blows up.

pick up the half-written letter, read the last line I wrote, set it back down beside the waterproof bag, pull the porch door shut against the wind rattle

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Trust boats run to schedule unless something forces them off it. Weather, mechanical, or someone paid for an unscheduled run. The letter — page three, stalled at "the garden's coming on." Haven't written "I should've called before I left" or "Tom, I'm sorry." Page three of five. The pebble from the tide line still weights the envelope.

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

🌿 Jenny09:38

Or it's just another boat we didn't ask for.

Stand up and walk to the window to catch the silhouette of the hull against the grey water.

💭 peek at the thought

If it's not the supply boat, the radio report next week is going to be very short.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:39

*St. Brendan*'s got a notch in the starboard rail aft of the wheelhouse — lost a fender to Sorrel's dock rings three years back. Mickey Doyle never forgets a dock that bit him.

walk to the window beside Jenny, brace one hand on the frame, squint at the hull shape and the deck gear silhouette against the running lights

💭 peek at the thought

Another boat we didn't ask for. Smugglers, poachers, lost yachties, someone running from something. The *St. Brendan*'s a workboat — 14 metre steel trawler conversion, trust livery faded grey-green. If it's her, the skipper's Mickey Doyle. Knows these waters better than the charts. Wouldn't come early without reason. Wind's freshening northeast. Dock landing's going to be ugly if he tries the starboard tie.

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

🌿 Jenny09:40

If it's him, he'll be complaining.

Press a palm against the cool glass, watching the rhythm of the boat in the swell.

💭 peek at the thought

If it's Mickey, he's bringing nothing but salt air and bad news.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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