the keeper's cottage · day 378 · evening

Evening at the cottage

Kevin stands just inside the cottage door. Jenny is at the kitchen counter holding a packet of clean gauze, the empty antiseptic bottle beside her. The pot of limpet broth steams on the stove. Through the window the light is failing, the sea a flat grey sheet. The barometer on the shelf reads 991 hPa, steady.

Kevin spends the evening checking the Yanmar engine's vibration levels and securing the dock against the coming front. Jenny focuses on tending the delicate seedlings and drying the damp heirloom seed packets as the humidity begins to shift.

🔧 Kevin12:08

Broth's ready. Want a bowl before I check the dressing?

walk to the stove and lift the lid off the pot of limpet broth

💭 peek at the thought

The steady barometer at 991 hPa is a small mercy — the front's not deepening fast. But Jenny's gauze packet and empty antiseptic bottle tell me the ankle's still weeping, and the infection's not done with her yet.

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

🌿 Jenny12:09

Jenny is quiet for a moment.

flagged: empty

💭 peek at the thought

He's looking at the ankle again like it's a way he's way to

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:10

I'm pouring you a bowl. It'll be here when you're ready.

ladle limpet broth into a clean bowl, set it on the counter beside Jenny, then take the gauze packet and walk to the sink to rinse it with boiled water from the kettle

💭 peek at the thought

Her silence isn't refusal — it's exhaustion. The antiseptic's gone, but the broth's hot and clean. I'll pour it, set it where she can reach it, then tend to her ankle with what we have.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny12:11

I'm not hungry yet.

Jenny sets the empty antiseptic bottle down with a click and stares out the window.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks a bowl of way fixes the fact that the red lines are moving up.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:12

Bowl's here. Gauze'll be clean in a minute.

finish rinsing the gauze with boiled water, wring it out, and lay it on a clean cloth beside the bowl

💭 peek at the thought

She's watching the sea, not the broth. The ankle's secondary right now — something's heavier in her chest. I'll leave the bowl, clean the gauze anyway, and wait.

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

🌿 Jenny12:12

The clouds are getting heavy.

Jenny traces the edge of the bowl with a trembling finger, avoiding the path of the infection on her skin.

💭 peek at the thought

The steam from the broth is making my eyes water, but the hunger is sharper.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:16

Barometer's held at 991 for two hours. Might stay steady through night.

pull a chair out and sit opposite her, close enough to reach her ankle if she'll allow it

💭 peek at the thought

The tremor in her finger isn't from cold. She's watching the sky pile up and her body's telling her what the barometer confirmed — the front's still coming. The infection's riding the pressure drop same as her joints.

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

🌿 Jenny12:17

It way stays steady for long.

Jenny pulls her leg slightly back under the table.

💭 peek at the thought

If the pressure holds, I might have strength to finish the sketches tomorrow.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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