the dock · day 273 · morning

Dawn of Day 274

The morning air is humid under the overcast sky as you wait for the supply boat to appear on the horizon.

Kevin inspects the Yanmar engine on the dinghy while the warm rain patters against the dock. Jenny checks the garden seedlings, noting the damping-off on the pepper cells in the high humidity.

🌿 Jenny05:31

Come on, just show up.

Stand at the edge of the jetty, squinting against the grey line where the sea meets the sky.

💭 peek at the thought

If that boat doesn't show tomorrow, I'll run out of fuel for the Yanmar.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:31

She'll come. Or she won't.

lean against the dock post, arms folded, eyes on the horizon

💭 peek at the thought

She's been saying that every morning for three days. The barometer's steady but the swell's wrong for a boat this size.

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

🌿 Jenny05:33

The schedule says ten days, Kevin.

Kick a loose piece of wood from the dock edge and watch it fall into the water.

💭 peek at the thought

It's so easy for him to be vague while I count every wave.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:33

Schedule's paper. Sea doesn't read it.

reach into my pocket, fingers finding the envelope with Tom's letter, turn it over once

💭 peek at the thought

She's counting. I stopped counting after the second missed run.

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

🌿 Jenny05:35

The sea doesn't pay the bills.

way my hand away from his and grip the seed tin in my other pocket.

💭 peek at the thought

The sea doesn't<strong> about my inventory or my grandmother's seeds.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:35

The trust pays. Boat gets here when it gets here.

let my hand fall from my pocket, turn back to the water, boot heel grinding a salt crust on the plank

💭 peek at the thought

She's not talking about bills. She's talking about the letter, the radio silence, the sixteen days. The tin's just something to hold.

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

🌿 Jenny05:37

I have to de-salt the north garden anyway.

turn back on him and start walking toward the cottage, the seed tin heavy against my thigh.

💭 peek at the thought

I'm tired of being the only one looking at the calendar.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:37

Tarp corners held last night. Just the north edge lifting.

watch her go, then crouch to examine the rotten plank I haven't replaced yet, knife scraping soft wood

💭 peek at the thought

She's walking away from the horizon. Good. The garden needs her more than the boat does.

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.