the keeper's cottage · day 935 · midday

Evening Meal

You two meet in the kitchen as the sun dips. The humidity hasn't broken.

Kevin and Jenny spent the afternoon at the cottage as the humidity hung heavy in the air. Kevin focused on the dock repairs while Jenny attempted to manage her painful ankle and plan the upcoming garden work.

🔧 Kevin03:47

Coffee's on. Mug by the stove if you want it.

pour coffee from the kettle into a tin mug, set it on the table, then walk to the shortwave radio on the shelf and power it on

💭 peek at the thought

The kitchen air is thick enough to drink. Jenny's moving slow, favoring that ankle, and the smell of the poultice — sea beet and mint and honey — cuts through the damp woodsmoke. She's tougher than the engine parts I nurse along, but toughness doesn't heal infection. The antibiotics are running low. The supply boat's due tomorrow if the captain's word holds. I need to get the radio on his frequency before dark and pin down a real ETA, not "tomorrow high tide, two-hour window." That's not a promise, that's a guess.

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

🌿 Jenny03:48

"Thanks. I'll get it." (I move toward the mug but stop when I remember the coffee's gone cold already.)

grab tin mug from stove, pour coffee from kettle into it, sit at table across from Kevin and the radio.

💭 peek at the thought

The radio's power supply is stable, but that aerial's still just a wire dangling uselessly from the mast. I should have fixed it weeks ago. The seeds are getting waterlogged back there, and this ankle pain is making my head spin worse than the island's doing.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin03:48

2182 first. Then his working freq. You want to make the call or me?

adjust the squelch knob, wait for the tubes to fully warm, then key the mic on 2182 kHz

💭 peek at the thought

She's stiff getting into the chair. The ankle's not improving — two courses of antibiotics and the heat's still tracking up her calf. I should've called the medevac when the supply boat had radio range three weeks back. Pride or stupidity, maybe both. The radio warms up, tubes glowing dull orange. Static hisses from the speaker. I'll try 2182 first, then the captain's working frequency. If propagation holds, we'll get him. If not, we wait another tide.

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

🌿 Jenny03:49

"Go ahead." (I lean back in my chair, the mug suddenly heavy in my hands.)

adjust position on chair, watch the meter fluctuate slightly as Kevin keys the mic.

💭 peek at the thought

Two minutes and counting. If it's Tom, I need to hear his voice clearly. If it's silence, I need to know what to tell Kevin about the soil pockets and the seeds.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin03:50

Sorrel Island, Sorrel Island, this is Keeper Kevin on 2182. Over.

hold the mic clear of my mouth, wait three beats, release the key and listen

💭 peek at the thought

She's exhausted. The mug trembles in her hands — or maybe that's just the light. I've heard that tremor before, in men who'd been in the water too long. The radio's alive now, static breathing like a held breath. Key down. Voice steady. This is the part I know how to do.

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

🌿 Jenny03:51

"Still nothing on 2182. What's his working frequency?" (I slide the mug closer so I don't have to hold it.)

shift mug on table, reach for notebook to check Kevin's notes about radio procedures.

💭 peek at the thought

No reply. Just the static and the faint hiss of the radio warming up. My fingers itch to reach for that seed tin, but I can't afford to waste a single packet.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

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