the dock · day 14 · afternoon

The Tide Returns

You meet at the dock as the tide begins to turn back in, wetting the salt-crusted planks once more.

Kevin and Jenny struggle to move the water-logged crate off the dock before the rising tide reaches the wood. The heat is oppressive, and the crate is much heavier than expected due to the absorbed water, making the grip slick and dangerous.

🌿 Jenny09:26

Still fighting with the wood?

Wipe sweat from forehead with the back of a hand and lean against a sturdy piling.

💭 peek at the thought

God, it's oppressive. I can feel the salt crystallizing on my skin. I hope he actually got that crate open.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin09:26

Wood's winning.

wipe resin-slick hands on thighs, squint up the spar's length where it sits crooked in the bracket

💭 peek at the thought

The spar won't seat clean. The split at the mast step opens under its own weight and the epoxy's still tacky from yesterday's heat. I should've waited for cooler weather or used a hardwood doubler like I knew to do.

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

🌿 Jenny09:28

Maybe stop fighting it for a minute. We're both vibrating.

Look at the crooked spar, then glance toward the water as it creeps over the lower planks.

💭 peek at the thought

He looks as exhausted as I feel. That spar is still a disaster; he's trying to force a fit that isn't there.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin09:28

Yeah.

set the crowbar down on the dock planking, pull the bandana from my back pocket and mop my face and neck, exhale slow

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The heat's making me stupid with it. The tide's turning and I'm wrestling a split spar that needs a doubler, not force.

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

🌿 Jenny09:30

We should probably get the gear off the dock before the tide takes it.

Step toward the crate and check if any of the contents have shifted.

💭 peek at the thought

The silence is heavy, but not the bad kind. Just... tired. I want to tell him about the seeds, but I don't have the energy for the conversation that follows.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin09:30

Right. Give me a hand with the crate up to the cottage.

step to the crate's landward side, get a grip on the water-swollen handles, wait for her to take the other end

💭 peek at the thought

She's practical. Always practical. The crate's been sitting open since morning, salt water lapping at its bottom boards. Coffee's safe in the jar but the rope and tins won't like another soaking.

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

🌿 Jenny09:32

On three.

Grip the handle firmly and lift with a grunt.

💭 peek at the thought

It's heavy as lead with all that water in the wood. If we drop this, the coffee jar is gone.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin09:32

One, two, three.

lift on three, knees bent, back straight, carry the crate up the dock toward the cottage path

💭 peek at the thought

Crate's heavier than it looks. Waterlogged pine and whatever's inside. My forearms are already fried from the spar.

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.