the keeper's cottage · day 655 · evening

Evening at the cottage

The air remains heavy and still as the sun begins to dip. You and Jenny meet on the porch to discuss the plan for tomorrow's dock work.

No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.

🔧 Kevin01:22

South piling first. Sister the plate down to sound wood below the mudline — forty inches Jenny marked. Come-along on the north piling to take the load while we bolt. Two hours at low tide, maybe three before the water comes back over the mortise.

lean against the porch rail, arms folded, watching the tide line drop on the dock pilings

💭 peek at the thought

The tide's turning early tomorrow. Need the south piling sistered before the afternoon surge hits. Greenheart's staged, come-along's tested. Jenny's ankle held today but she'll want to be out there. Have to make the call on whether she stays on the porch.

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

🌿 Jenny01:23

Right. I'll get the heavy wrenches ready.

Look out toward the garden, my jaw tightening as the pain throbs in my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He's talking about bolts and tides while the garden is literally being eaten alive.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:24

Wrenches are in the shed. I'll stage the greenheart and the 150mm bolts tonight. You stay off it until then.

turn toward the cottage door, pause with hand on the frame

💭 peek at the thought

She's pushing through it. The throb's worse than she's letting on — seen her favor it all afternoon. But she'll be at the dock tomorrow regardless. Better to plan for her there than pretend she won't.

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

🌿 Jenny01:25

I'll check the tank first.

way on the porch step, watching the shadows stretch over the half-weeded garden.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks I can just turn off the pain like the shortwave radio.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:26

It's full.

step inside the kitchen, pull the kettle from the hook, set it on the stove without lighting it

💭 peek at the thought

Tank's fine — 397 litres, barely touched. She knows that. She's stalling, giving herself a reason to move before the light goes. Let her.

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

🌿 Jenny01:27

I know.

walk toward the back of the cottage, limping slightly, avoiding the overgrown patch.

💭 peek at the thought

Everything is full except the garden and the space in my head.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:28

Kevin — strike a match, light the stove, wait for the kettle to heat

💭 peek at the thought

She walked the ridge at 1400 in forty-knot wind. Now she limps to check a tank she knows is full. Stubborn as the dock rot.

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

🌿 Jenny01:29

Don't be late tomorrow.

walk to the rain tank, run a hand flat against the cold plastic to hear the level.

💭 peek at the thought

397 litres. Enough for a week, but not enough for the fear.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:30

I won't.

pour hot water into the tin mugs, set one on the porch rail for her, cradle the other against the chill creeping off the stone

💭 peek at the thought

Never late. The tide doesn't wait and neither do I.

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

🌿 Jenny01:31

I need to change the dressing.

step onto the porch, look down at the mangled earth where the crab was.

💭 peek at the thought

He doesn't see the tracks. He doesn't see the ruined seedlings.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:32

Saline's on the shelf. Gauze behind it.

sip the hot water, let the steam rise against my face, listen for the sound of her moving inside

💭 peek at the thought

The crab's gone. She's looking at where it was, not the ankle. The gauze and antiseptic are on the kitchen shelf. She'll need the saline too — last of it.

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

🌿 Jenny01:33

I've got it.

sit on the porch step, peel the bandage back, wince at the red, angry skin.

💭 peek at the thought

The ankle is throbbing in time with the tide. Everything is heavy.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:34

Looks cleaner than yesterday.

lean back against the doorframe, mug in hand, watching the last light bleed out of the sky over the garden

💭 peek at the thought

Red line hasn't spread past where I marked it in pen. Heat's local. The sea beet poultice is holding it. She's clean with it — no rush, no fumble. Hands steady despite the wince.

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

🌿 Jenny01:35

It's fine.

wipe the wound with a damp cloth, staring at the crab tracks in the dirt.

💭 peek at the thought

It's not clean. It's angry. And the garden is gone.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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