Day 924

Boat's here. You staying on the crate?

check the dinghy's bow line and stern spring are holding clean, then walk up the dock toward the cottage to meet the supply boat crew

Take your time. I've got the lines.

hold the dinghy's bow line taut against the swell, watching her come down the dock, ready to steady her if she needs it

Impeller's lashed to the starboard rail. Green crate. Captain knows.

step onto the supply boat's gunwale as it comes alongside, reach for the first line they throw, and take a turn on the dock cleat to hold her steady against the swell

I'll check. You stay off the gunwale.

climb aboard the supply boat, move to the starboard rail where the green crate is lashed, cut the lines with my knife, and pry the lid open to verify the antibiotic packs before anything else

Impeller's in the pouch. I'll have the Yanmar breathing raw water inside twenty minutes. You want the coffee on before I button the housing?

kneel at the dinghy transom, open the tool roll, crack the raw water pump cover and swap the impeller

Margin notes save lives. I'll have the engine warm by the time you're back from the ridge.

torque the pump cover bolts, wipe the housing dry, swing the Yanmar's decompression lever and spin the flywheel by hand to verify free rotation

Bolts go to 12Nm. I'll watch your track from here.

pick up the torque wrench, set it to 12Nm, snug the raw water pump bolts in sequence, then reach for the starter cord

Engine's clean. Sit down before you fall down.

Wipe hands on rag, walk to Jenny and steady her by the shoulder, guide her toward the cottage porch.

Bolts are torqued. Sit. I'll check the housing after.

Guide her firmly to the porch step, crouch to examine the ankle — compare the redness to the pen mark from this morning.

Past the line. I'll get the sea beet and honey.

Stand, go inside cottage, retrieve sea beet leaves (crushed earlier), honey jar, clean gauze, doxy blister pack — return to porch, mix poultice in tin mug, apply thick over wound, wrap snug with fresh gauze, press two doxy tablets into her

Doxy at eight. Two tablets. Water's boiling if you want tea after.

set the torque wrench and socket on the porch table, pull the blanket tighter around Jenny's shoulders, then go inside to check the antibiotic blister pack and put the kettle on

2182 first. Then 6215.

walk to the kitchen shelf, power on the shortwave, set frequency to 2182 kHz, adjust the squelch, and listen

Harbour master at twenty past. Weather at the half.

rotate the tuning knob slightly, wait for the scheduled broadcast, note the signal strength on the meter

Got him. "Sorrel Island, Sorrel Island, this is Harbour Master. Supply vessel *Meridian* confirmed on schedule. High tide 0642 local. Two-hour weather window. Southwest 15, gusting 20 by afternoon. Barometer 1024 falling slow. Visibility good. Out."

log the transmission in the radio notebook — time, frequency, content — then switch to 6215 kHz for Tom's frequency

Tomorrow high tide. Two-hour window. Captain acknowledged on 2182.

Walk to the kitchen shelf, pull down the radio notebook, flip to the last entry and hold it out to her.

Slack's forty minutes after high. Crane's got reach for the pallets if we stage them on the seaward cleats. We'll manage.

Set a fresh mug of coffee on the table beside her, steam rising.

Crane held two drums today. Operator was steady. We've got block and tackle on the landward cleat if it comes to it.

Pull out the chair opposite her, sit, and stretch my legs under the table — boots still damp from the dock.

I'll go at first light. Low tide's 0530. Northern shelf's exposed. Be back before the boat.

Reach across the table, brush a thumb over the back of her hand — once, quick, like checking a bolt torque — then pull back and lift my own mug.

North slope, intercept trench, garden wall base. I'll look.

Nod once, drain the mug, set it down hard beside hers. Stand.

Seeds come first. Always.

Turn toward the porch door, pause at the frame, look back at the tin under her hand.

Rain's here. Going to check the dock lines and the north piling shim. Then the foundation.

pull on oilskin jacket and boots, grab headlamp, walk out to the dock

Won't. Back in ten.

walk down the porch steps to the dock, headlamp beam cutting through the first rain

(nothing — already at the dock, rain hitting the oilskin hood)

step onto the dock planks, move to the seaward end, check the bow and stern springs first — tension, chafe points, cleat integrity

Watching it.

shine headlamp on the mooring ring mortise — oak wedges seated, steel doubler plate flush, 150mm through-bolt tight. Then drop to knees at the north piling sister joint, probe the cedar shim with fingers — feel for movement, rot depth, wate