the dock · day 76 · evening

The Unopened Crate

Kevin and Jenny meet back at the dock as the tide begins to turn. The rain has slowed to a light mist.

Kevin and Jenny return to the cottage after failing to move the heavy, waterlogged crate from the dock. Inside, they discover the flour sack has been compromised by rodents, forcing them to discard the contaminated food supply.

🔧 Kevin08:05

Crate didn't budge. Tide might lift it free in an hour. You want to wait, or head back?

lean against the dock post, watching the water creep over the lower planks

💭 peek at the thought

Tide's turning. The mist makes the planks slick — need to test the repaired ones before the boat comes. Crate's still wedged; might shift with the water rising. Jenny's quiet. She's been quiet all day.

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

🌿 Jenny08:05

Let's head back. I'm starving, and the rain is just going to start up again.

Turn away from the water and start walking toward the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

My knees are killing me and I'm starving. Waiting for a crate that's already half-rotted isn't worth the chill.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin08:06

Mooring ring first. Two minutes.

crouch at the cleat, testing the ring's play with gloved fingers, rocking it side to side

💭 peek at the thought

She's walking fast. Cold, hungry, done with the dock. I'll check the mooring ring on the way past — loose in its mortise, shifts under load. Supply boat's due in eight days. If the ring pulls out, we lose the dinghy.

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

🌿 Jenny08:06

Just two. I'm starting a fire the second we get inside.

Stand still and wait, shifting weight from one stiff knee to the other.

💭 peek at the thought

Two minutes always becomes ten. I can feel the damp settling into my joints.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin08:08

Three millimetres. Wedge it tomorrow. Fire's on.

straighten, roll one shoulder, and follow her up the path

💭 peek at the thought

Ring's got three millimetres of play. Mortise is crumbling. Needs epoxy and a wooden wedge, or a through-bolt if the timber holds. Can do it tomorrow before the tide turns. Fire sounds good. My back's telling me I leaned over the crate too long.

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

🌿 Jenny08:08

Good. Let's hope the rats didn't find the flour while we were out.

Walk quickly toward the cottage, glancing back at the half-weeded garden.

💭 peek at the thought

He's obsessed with the tolerances of everything except the things that actually grow. I need to check those seed trays before the humidity spikes again.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin08:10

Flour's gone. Threw it out. Rats got the oats tin too — set a trap last night, nothing yet.

walk beside her, boots squelching on the path, one hand absently rubbing the small of my back

💭 peek at the thought

Flour sack was chewed and contaminated — discarded it days ago. She's testing me, or her memory's slipping. Either way, the garden's still half weeds. Eleven months and I never built the sensory garden I talked about. She notices everything.

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

🌿 Jenny08:11

Great. Just great. We're being outsmarted by rodents.

Lean slightly into his touch but keep walking, eyes scanning the pantry window for any movement.

💭 peek at the thought

God, the oats too? We're losing our stores to vermin while he's measuring mooring rings.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin08:12

It's one rat. We're smarter. Just hungry.

push the cottage door open, hold it for her, then step inside and go straight to the wood stove

💭 peek at the thought

She's leaning into me. Rare. She's cold through. The pantry window's dark — no movement visible, but the scratching behind the shelves has been steady for three nights. Rat's bold. Trap's the wrong size. Need to build a better one or find where it's getting in. Later. Food first.

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

🌿 Jenny08:13

Hope you're right about it being just one.

Walk past him to the kitchen window and check the moisture level of the seed trays.

💭 peek at the thought

One rat is a colony in the making. I need to see how the seeds are doing in those trays; I hope the soil didn't settle too much.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin08:14

Water's hot. Tin of corned beef?

crouch by the stove, feeding the fire, then set the cast iron skillet on the hot plate

💭 peek at the thought

Kindling's dry. Paper's under the grate. Two splits of cedar, three of spruce. Match strikes first try. Flames catch the paper, lick the cedar. Heat climbs the flue. My back unknots a degree.

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

🌿 Jenny08:15

yeah. I'm starving.

Touch the surface of the soil in the seed trays, checking for dampness.

💭 peek at the thought

Corned beef again. At least it's protein. I need to see if those seeds are actually viable.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:16

Opening the beef. Two minutes.

slide the skillet onto the stove, pop the tin with the church key, and shake the meat into the hot pan

💭 peek at the thought

Soil's damp but not soggy. Seeds haven't drowned. Good. Jenny's checking like she's still trying to grow something. I used to tease her about talking to plants. Now I watch her hands — careful, patient. The rat's in the pantry. Corned beef's in the tin. I'll open it, slice it thick. She's starving. I am too.

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

🌿 Jenny08:16

Put some of those boiled limpets in with it if there are any left.

Gently poke the soil with a finger to check for compaction.

💭 peek at the thought

The smell of the beef is hitting me, but the soil in the trays feels too heavy. I might have overwatered them in my rush.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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