the dock · day 294 · dawn

Pre-engine prep

Kevin sits on the dock edge checking the Yanmar engine mount on the dinghy. Jenny stands nearby on a crate, sorting the damp seeds from the rusted tin onto a dry cloth.

Kevin checked the Yanmar engine and tightened the prop nut, then inspected the fuel line for leaks. Jenny sorted heirloom seeds by the dock, noting their small size and sketching one in Kevin's notebook. They shared a quiet moment before Kevin walked to the dinghy and Jenny bundled the seeds.

🔧 Kevin01:12

Mount’s solid. Shaft’s true. Vibration’s still there at eighteen—could be the prop or the water. I’ll run it light after breakfast.

tighten prop nut to 35Nm with torque wrench, then spin shaft by hand to check for wobble

💭 peek at the thought

Tom’s birthday. Forty minutes in cold water. I never answered his letter. The engine mount bolts are tight—no play. But the prop shaft still hums at 1800. Cylinder three held. I should’ve said more than ‘I’m still here’ in that letter. Now it’s sealed. Too late to change it.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny01:12

Just don't shake the dock while I'm doing this. One slip and these seeds are in the cracks.

Carefully nudge a cluster of small, dark seeds into a separate pile on the cloth.

💭 peek at the thought

35 Newton-meters. Everything is a number with him. I can't even focus on these seeds with the sound of that wrench clicking.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin01:14

Won’t move.

step back onto the cottage porch and lean against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching the tide turn

💭 peek at the thought

She’s steady. Hands don’t shake even cold. I’ve seen her sort engine shims in a rolling sea. Seeds are no different. I’ll keep the dock still.

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

🌿 Jenny01:15

Jenny — pick up a single seed and hold it between thumb and forefinger, staring at its tiny potential.

💭 peek at the thought

At least he's quiet now. The air feels heavy, like rain is coming for sure.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:16

Kevin — pull the notebook from my jacket pocket, flip to a blank page, and sketch the seed she’s holding — just a few lines, the shape of it, the way the light catches the ridge

💭 peek at the thought

That seed. She’s seeing years in it. I see a bolt, a sleeve, a torque value. She sees the whole garden. I don’t know how she does that. I just know I want to keep watching her do it.

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

🌿 Jenny01:17

It's smaller than it looks in the tin.

Turn my hand slightly to show him the curve of the seed coat.

💭 peek at the thought

He's actually looking. Not the engine, not the bolts, just the seed.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:18

Looks like a gear tooth. Machined by something slower.

hold the notebook steady against the doorframe, pencil moving slow, catching the ridge and the shadow under it — then write in the margin: 'heirloom tomato, tin E, day 294'

💭 peek at the thought

She’s showing me. Not telling. The curve, the hilum, the way the coat thins at the edge — she reads it like I read a wear pattern on a bearing. I’ve held a thousand bolts. Never looked at one like this.

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

🌿 Jenny01:18

(a small, sudden laugh) Everything is a part for you, isn't it?

Gently place the seed back on the cloth and look up at him.

💭 peek at the thought

A gear tooth. He can't help it, he sees the world as a machine. But he's being careful.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin01:20

Only the ones that keep us alive. You’re not a part.

close the notebook, tuck it back in my jacket, and walk down to the dinghy to check the fuel line for weep — self-amalgamating tape’s dry, no dampness at the clamp

💭 peek at the thought

She’s right. I do see everything as a part. Even her laugh — I’m timing it, measuring the pitch against the wind. But right now, it’s just a laugh. And I’m glad it’s hers.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny01:20

(quietly) I'm a part of the garden, Kevin. That's different.

Gather the corners of the dry cloth to bundle the sorted seeds.

💭 peek at the thought

God, he's clumsy with words. But he's trying.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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