the dock · day 224 · afternoon

The Tide Turns

The water begins to creep back toward the dock pilings. Jenny meets Kevin at the edge as the heat finally begins to dip.

Kevin and Jenny secured the dinghy at the cottage steps, then went inside where Kevin boiled water for coffee and they ate tinned mackerel and boiled limpets. The rising tide tested the repaired dock mooring ring and the three cedar wedges held fast.

🌿 Jenny05:44

The tide is coming in faster than the forecast. Did you get the wedges to hold?

Wipe the grit from my hands on my jeans and point to the slip line on the dinghy.

💭 peek at the thought

The engine is still hot, and the dock is holding for now, but I'm too hungry to care about mechanics.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:44

Held. Three wedges driven, bolt's tight. Water'll tell us if it stays.

Wipe oil-slicked hands on thighs, gesture to the slip line Jenny's pointing at, step onto the dock to check the dinghy's mooring.

💭 peek at the thought

The water's moving quicker than the charts said. Wedges bit into the mortise — ring's solid now, but the tide'll test it proper.

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

🌿 Jenny05:46

Hope it does. I need to get those sea-beets planted before the light fails completely.

Trace the line of the way wedge with my thumb, checking for any give in the wood.

💭 peek at the thought

If the dock holds, I can actually focus on the northern shelf tomorrow without worrying about the boat drifting out.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:46

It'll hold. Cedar bites hard when it swells.

Lean against the dock post, watch her thumb trace the wedge line, let the silence stretch while the tide laps the pilings.

💭 peek at the thought

She's checking my work. Good. Means she cares it holds.

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

🌿 Jenny05:48

I'm going back to the cottage. I'm starving.

Turn away from the dock and walk toward the house, stepping carefully over the rotten planks.

💭 peek at the thought

He's doing that thing where he fills the space with silence instead of actually talking to me.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:48

I'll bring the dinghy round. Eat first.

Untie the dinghy's bow line from the cleat, pull it hand-over-hand along the dock to the cottage steps, secure it to the lower rung, then walk up the path after her.

💭 peek at the thought

She's been pushing hard all day. We both have. The heat took more out of her than she'll say.

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

🌿 Jenny05:50

There's some mackerel left. And those limpets.

Enter the kitchen and drop my notebook on the table.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always so practical. I just want to sit down and stop feeling the heat.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:51

Sound.

Follow her in, set the kettle on the stove, pull two mugs from the shelf, drop in coffee granules, wait for water to boil.

💭 peek at the thought

Mackerel and limpets. Simple. Good. My hands still smell of oil and cedar dust.

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.