the keeper's cottage · day 911 · evening

Evening in the heat

The wind continues to gust as the sun dips, leaving the salt-crusted garden behind you. You and Jenny retreat inside to escape the humidity and the spray.

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

🔧 Kevin10:52

Coffee?

walk to the stove and fill the kettle from the tank tap

💭 peek at the thought

The salt's in everything tonight — my fingers, the radio knobs, the hinge on the porch door. Three days till the boat. Need to check the impeller housing one more time before they arrive.

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

🌿 Jenny10:52

Please. Black.

Limp slowly to the kitchen table and sink into a chair, resting the swollen ankle on a low stool.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't even stand properly and he's offering coffee. The air is like a wet blanket.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:54

Kevin — set two tin mugs on the table, pour the kettle slow so the grounds settle, slide one across to her

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring it hard today. The salt soak helped for an hour, maybe two. Antibiotics are holding but the bone's still knitting slow.

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

🌿 Jenny10:54

Thanks.

Wrap fingers around the warm tin mug and take a slow, cautious sip.

💭 peek at the thought

He's being careful. Quiet. I can feel the pulse in my ankle humming through the stool.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:56

Boat's confirmed for high tide. Two-hour window. Captain said they're bringing the impeller housing.

sit opposite her with my own mug, blow across the surface

💭 peek at the thought

Steam rises in the lamplight. The barometer's still falling. She's watching me over the rim — waiting for the radio call log, or the wall repair plan, or something I haven't said yet.

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

🌿 Jenny10:56

Good. Then you can finally stop talking about it.

Set the mug down and carefully peel back the edge of the gauze on my ankle to check the swelling.

💭 peek at the thought

Finally. The one thing he's been obsessing over for months. I wonder if he'll even notice I'm barely holding it together.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:58

Yours first.

reach across the table, two fingers under her chin tilting her face to the lamplight

💭 peek at the thought

She's deflecting. The ankle looks angry still — red tracking up the calf despite the doxycycline. She's checking mine to avoid talking about hers.

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

🌿 Jenny10:59

I'm fine, Kevin.

way away slightly from his touch, focusing on the throbbing heat of my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He's looking at me like I'm a way under a glass. I'm tired of being watched.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:00

Liar. Let me see.

keep my hand there, thumb brushing the jawline — wait

💭 peek at the thought

The deflection's mutual. My ankle's been throbbing since the dock work — salt in a nick I didn't feel until the boot came off. She spotted the limp. We're both too proud to sit still.

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

🌿 Jenny11:00

Jenny — go quiet, eyes dropping to the table, and slowly lean my head back to break the contact.

💭 peek at the thought

He's trying to be tender, but it feels like a probe. I can't do this right now.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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