the dock · day 91 · afternoon

Slack Tide Departure

The tide reaches its lowest point, exposing the slick rocks beneath the dock line as the sky darkens further over the island.

The afternoon air is heavy with the 32°C heat as the tide recedes, exposing the slick rocks of the tide pools. Kevin remains at the dock, frustratedly hunched over the disassembled Yanmar engine, while Jenny works inside the kitchen, tending to the damp heirloom seeds near the warmth of the wood stove.

🌿 Jenny00:09

Three days. Just three.

Close the notebook, tuck the pencil behind my ear, and walk back toward the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

If that engine doesn't start when the boat comes, I'm stuck here with nothing but weeds and these sketches.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:09

Three days.

Reassemble the carburetor bowl, wipe hands on rag, stand and stretch back, walk toward cottage with Jenny

💭 peek at the thought

She's counting down to the supply boat like it's salvation. Three days of this engine not starting, three days of me stuck on this dock. The carburetor bowl's clean — I can see that much. Fuel's getting through. Spark's wet but firing. It's the needle valve sticking again, or the float level's off. That rough file job on the replacement needle didn't hold.

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

🌿 Jenny00:11

We should boil the limpets for dinner.

Walk beside him, eyes tracking the rotten planks of the jetty.

💭 peek at the thought

I'm starving. I need to check those seed trays again.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:11

Limpets and corned beef fat again. Might find some purslane on the way back if the tide's still out.

Step over the worst plank, gesture toward the tide pools, walk the beach path toward cottage

💭 peek at the thought

She's watching the dock rot under our feet while I fiddle with an engine that won't catch. Two planks gone soft. The tide takes a little more each cycle. She notices everything now — writes it all down. Used to be she'd ask what I was thinking. Now she just records.

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

🌿 Jenny00:13

I'll check the trays while you get the water.

Nod, feeling the weight of the notebook in my hand.

💭 peek at the thought

Purslane is good, but I'm more worried about the mold.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:13

Back in twenty.

Walk up the path toward the spring, grab two empty jerry cans from the porch

💭 peek at the thought

Dividing the work without speaking it. She takes the garden, I take the water. The tank's at 385 — fifteen litres shy of full. Spring run's been good this year. She'll check the heirloom trays for mold, note germination rates in that notebook. I'll haul two jerry cans from the spring, maybe check the generator oil while I'm up. Simple rhythm. Works.

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

🌿 Jenny00:15

Don't be too long, the heat is rising.

Turn and head toward the cottage, stepping over the half-weeded garden.

💭 peek at the thought

I hope he finds something edible. The water is getting low.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:15

Kevin — walk up the wooded path to the spring, fill both jerry cans, check the overflow clarity, haul them back down to the cottage

💭 peek at the thought

Heat rising. She feels it in her joints — says it's the humidity before a storm. Barometer's been steady at 978 but she reads the air better than the gauge. The path to the spring climbs steep through the woods. Two full cans weigh forty kilos. My knees know every metre.

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

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