the keeper's cottage · day 295 · evening

Dressing the wound

Kevin kneels on the kitchen floor as the sun sets. The smell of antiseptic fills the small room as he carefully wipes the inflamed skin.

Kevin tends to Jenny's infected ankle at the cottage as the sky darkens overhead. Jenny endures the sting of the antiseptic and antibiotics while watching the red streaks spreading slightly up her calf.

🔧 Kevin02:36

Hold still. This'll sting.

Clean the wound with antiseptic and fresh water, then apply antibiotic ointment and fresh gauze, wrapping it snug but not tight.

💭 peek at the thought

The red streaks are tracking upward. Not good. She's been walking on it all day in the rain. Should've made her stay off it.

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

🌿 Jenny02:37

It's hot, Kevin. My leg feels really hot.

Jenny watches his hands, flinching as the antiseptic hits the raw skin.

💭 peek at the thought

The streaks are moving. If the boat doesn't come in nine days, I won't be walking to the radio.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:38

I know. Antibiotics next. Two capsules with water. Then you're not putting weight on that leg until the streaks fade.

Pull the antibiotic course from the first aid kit, shake out two capsules, and hand them to her with the tin mug of water.

💭 peek at the thought

Infection's moving fast. Red streaks, heat, swelling. She needs the antibiotics now, not later. And she needs to stay off it completely — which means I'm doing the dock, the radio, the garden, the engine checks, and the night watches alone.

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

🌿 Jenny02:39

I can't just stay in the chair for a week.

Jenny takes the capsules and the mug, swallowing the medicine in two quick gulps.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't just sit here. The garden is still half weeds and the air is getting heavy.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin02:40

You won't. A few days. Until the heat drops. I'll bring the work to you.

Set the mug aside, tape the gauze down securely, then fetch the wooden crate and slide it under her foot. Move her notebook, the radio log, and the seed trays onto the kitchen table within arm's reach.

💭 peek at the thought

She'll try to work. She always does. But if this goes septic we're looking at a medevac call and the supply boat's nine days out at best. I'll rig the crate as a footrest, move her notebook and radio log within reach, and put the seed trays on the table so she can tend them sitting down. She keeps her mind busy, she'll stay put.

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

🌿 Jenny02:41

Thank you.

Jenny leans back into the chair and reaches for the notebook, tracing the lines of the sea beet sketches.

💭 peek at the thought

He's trying to build a wall around me to keep me safe, but I feel like I'm being caged.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin02:42

Get some sleep. I'll wake you for the noon sight tomorrow if you're up for it.

Pull the blanket from the bed and drape it over her shoulders, then step out onto the porch to check the barometer and the wind direction.

💭 peek at the thought

She's exhausted. The sketching in the squall, the walk back, the infection flaring — she's been running on nothing. The antibiotics need time. I'll check the dock lines at midnight and 0300 like always, but I should also check the barometer trend and the generator fuel before I turn in. And the letter to Tom is still on the table. Still sealed. Three weeks.

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

🌿 Jenny02:42

Jenny — jenny pulls the blanket tight around her shoulders and stares at the seed tin on the table.

💭 peek at the thought

Sleep is a luxury I can't afford when my blood feels like it's boiling.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin02:44

Kevin — step back inside, tear off a strip of self-amalgamating tape, and seal the heirloom seed tin lid. Then grab the storm lantern and head for the dock.

💭 peek at the thought

She's looking at the seed tin. The heirloom packets drying inside. The damp she's been fighting all season. If the humidity spikes tonight with this wind shift, the mold takes hold again. I should've sealed the tin tighter. I'll tape the lid before I do the midnight watch.

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

🌿 Jenny02:44

Jenny — jenny closes her eyes and tries to breathe through the throbbing in her ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

The red lines are moving faster. I can see them pulsing under the skin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:46

Kevin — light the storm lantern, hook it to the belt, and walk down the path to the dock.

flagged: repeated_opener

💭 peek at the thought

She's fading fast. Good. Sleep's the only thing'll knock the fever back. The dock ring held through the squall — oak wedges and the doubler plate took the load — but the supply boat's due in nine days and the barometer's still falling. West wind backing southwest by morning means a confused sea on the crossing. I'll check the stern spring, the ring bolts, and the fender placement. Then the generator fuel. Then the radio schedule. Then maybe two hours' sleep if the wind holds.

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

🌿 Jenny02:46

Jenny — jenny slowly opens one eye and watches the glow of the lantern disappear into the thickening gray of the evening.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always moving, always fixing something. I'm just here, waiting for a boat that might not come.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin02:48

Kevin — reach the dock, set the lantern on the cleat, and run hands along the stern spring line feeling for chafe, then test the mooring ring for play in the mortise.

flagged: repeated_opener

💭 peek at the thought

The path's slick with rain. Boots hold on the stone steps but the planks ahead will be treacherous. Lantern throws a tight circle — enough for the ring bolts, the spring lines, the waterline on the pilings. Tide's low now, rising. If the supply boat comes in on a swell with this wind, the dinghy's stern spring takes the shock. That splice held today. It'll hold Thursday. But I'll check it anyway. Every night.

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

🌿 Jenny02:49

Jenny — jenny shifts her leg, feeling the heat of the infection through the gauze, and reaches for a pencil to doodle in the margins of her notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

I hope the ring holds. If the dock fails now, we're truly cut off.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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