the dock · day 515 · afternoon

The Gathering Squ

The flat sky finally breaks, and the first gust of a cold front sweeps the island, rattling the garden tarp.

Kevin and Jenny inspect the dock as the tide rises, noting the water has climbed another inch up the stone foundation. They agree the structural repairs are holding for now, but they decide to head to the ridge to visit the shrine before the sun sets.

🔧 Kevin03:22

Jenny — tarp’s coming loose. I’m gonna secure it, then check the ring.

walk to the garden, grab the heavy-duty twine from the oak stakes, and re-secure the tarp’s windward corner with a timber strip and a tight lashing.

💭 peek at the thought

The wind’s come in hard — tarp’s flapping like it’ll tear loose. Jenny’s still on the porch, but I can’t see her from here. Mooring ring held yesterday, but this gust’ll test it proper. Got to check the wedges and lashings before the surge hits.

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

🌿 Jenny03:23

Watch the swell on the dock, Kevin. The tide is coming in fast.

Sit on the porch steps, clutching my throbbing ankle, and watch the palms thr in the wind.

💭 peek at the thought

If that wind gets any stronger, the seedlings will be shredded before the boat even gets here.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:24

I’m on it. Stay off it till I check the ring.

run down the jetty, skip the rotten planks, and drop to my knees at the mooring ring — hand on the bronze sleeve, feel for shift, eye on the wedges and the lashing taut to the piling.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s watching the water, not me. Ankle’s bad again — she’s favoring it. Swell’s building, dock’s taking the brunt. I need to get down there before the pilings groan.

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

🌿 Jenny03:24

It's holding, isn't it?

Lean back against the porch railing and slowly massage the skin above the bandage.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so focused on the hardware. The ring isn't the only thing that's unstable.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin03:26

Yeah. It’s holding. For now.

press my palm flat against the mortise, feel for any give — none — then sight down the piling to the waterline, checking for fresh splashes or rot exposed by the swell.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s asking if it’s holding — not if I’m okay, not if she is. The ring’s got the wedges, the sleeve, the lashing. It’s not moving. But the piling underneath… I know what’s inside it. I don’t tell her that.

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

🌿 Jenny03:27

Don't overthink it. If the wedges are tight, they're tight.

Stand up slowly, testing the weight on my ankle, and limp toward the edge of the porch.

💭 peek at the thought

"For now." He always adds that. As if the island is just waiting for him to blink.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin03:28

Wedges are tight. Lashing’s good. I’ll keep an eye on it.

shift my weight to the balls of my feet, step back from the ring, and walk slowly toward the cottage — not to the porch, but to the corner where the sill meets the foundation, to see how far the water’s crept in since yesterday.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s right — overthinking’s what got me here. Wedges are tight. Lashing is solid. The ring’s not moving. But the wood beneath it… I can’t fix that with a wedge. I can only watch it go.

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

🌿 Jenny03:28

Jenny — stop walking and watch him from the porch, my face going quiet as I look at the damp line on the foundation.

💭 peek at the thought

He's checking the rot. He knows it's getting worse, even if he won't say it out loud.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin03:30

It’s up another inch since yesterday.

crouch low, run my finger along the damp line on the stone foundation, then rise and walk back to the dock — not to check the ring again, but to sit on the end of the jetty, back against the piling, and wait for the next swell to hit.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s watching me look at the water line. She knows what it means — the sill’s rotting, the floor’s sucking damp. I don’t need to say it. She’s already seen it. I just need to be here, not fixing, not explaining — just seeing it with her.

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

🌿 Jenny03:31

way we need that boat soon.

way down on the edge of the jetty, letting my legs out to the air, and watch the water climb the wood.

💭 peek at the thought

Another inch. The house is breathing in the salt and it's getting sick.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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