the keeper's cottage · day 338 · night

The Rising Tide

The evening air cools slightly, but the pressure continues to drop as the water climbs higher against the dock pilings.

Kevin prepares the Yanmar engine for a load test on the dinghy while the tide is still high. Jenny attempts to plant the heirloom seeds in the garden, but the pain in her ankle slows her down significantly.

🔧 Kevin21:57

Jenny, I'm going to shore up the mooring ring before the tide gets any higher. Want a hand, or should I shout if I need you?

walk to the dock with cedar wedges and the mallet from the workshop, then drive the wedges into the mortise around the mooring ring to take up the play and hold it firm against the pilings.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide's rising fast and the mooring ring's still loose — if it gives way under load, the supply boat could miss its tie-up or worse, damage the dock. I need to fix it before dark, but I'm tired and hungry. Still, better to do it now than regret it later when the boat's here and the lines are under strain.

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

🌿 Jenny21:59

I'm fine. Just... don't let the boat slip while you're working.

Jenny sets her pencil down slowly, then limps toward the door to watch him work in the waning light.

💭 peek at the thought

If the Analysis fails, the dinghy goes, and I'm stuck on this rock with nothing but half-planted seeds.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:59

I won't let it slip. I've got the wedges and the mallet — it'll hold. You go on inside; I'll shout if it starts to give.

drive the cedar wedges deep into the mortise on all four sides of the mooring ring, then strike each with the mallet to lock them tight, testing the ring by hand to ensure it no longer shifts under load.

💭 peek at the thought

She's worried, but she won't come out — her ankle's bad, and she doesn't want to slow me down. I can feel the weight of that silence: not anger, just the distance that grows when we don't say what's really there. Still, she's watching. That means something.

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

🌿 Jenny22:01

I'm watching from the porch.

Jenny leans against the doorframe, shifting her weight off the injured ankle as she tracks the rhythm of the mallet against the wood.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so steady with his hands, and I'm just a mess of swollen skin and fear.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:01

It's set. Should hold the boat fine when she comes.

wipe sweat from my brow with the back of my hand, then turn and walk back toward the cottage, giving Jenny a small nod as I pass the porch step.

💭 peek at the thought

The ring's seated now — no play, no shift. It'll hold when the boat comes. Jenny's watching, silent, but she's here. I want to say more, but the words feel heavy, like they'd break something if I spoke them wrong. Better to let the work stand for now. The tide's still coming up, but the dock's secure.

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

🌿 Jenny22:05

The tide is coming in fast.

Jenny watches him go inside, then retreats into the kitchen to look at the empty tin and the three seeds she buried in the dirt.

💭 peek at the thought

He doesn't even see how much I'm shaking. He just sees the work.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:05

(softly, more to myself than her) Three seeds. For Tom.

pause in the kitchen doorway, look at the empty tin on the table and the three small mounds of disturbed earth near the garden wall, then turn and go to the radio shelf, pick up the mic, and hold it for a moment before setting it back down

💭 peek at the thought

She's not talking about the tide anymore. The empty tin, the three seeds — she's marking something. Tom's birthday. I didn't say it earlier, but I know. Forty minutes in the water, and he thinks I chose to let go. I didn't. I just couldn't hold on. I've carried that every day since. I don't need forgiveness — I need him to know I never stopped trying to make it right. The radio's still on his frequency. Static, but I haven't turned the dial.

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

🌿 Jenny22:07

Don't forget to check the tank.

Jenny sits at the table, picks up her sketchbook, and begins to draw the morphology of a sea beet leaf, her hand trembling slightly.

💭 peek at the thought

He's thinking about the boat, and I'm thinking about the rot.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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