the keeper's cottage · day 403 · midday

The Calm Before the Surge

Kevin and Jenny are inside the cottage as the wind howls through the eaves. The water tank is full, but the food stores are low and the storm is growing louder.

The air is heavy and still at 28°C as the pressure continues to drop. The tide is high, lapping at the dock pilings faster than the forecast predicted. Jenny sits in the chair with her infected ankle elevated on the table, while Kevin watches the water through the porch window, checking the integrity of the new mooring ring.

🌿 Jenny12:39

The wind is getting worse. I hope the radio mast holds.

Limp over to the radio and check the dial.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is screaming. If the boat doesn't make it tomorrow because of this weather, I don't know how many more doses of antibiotics I have left in my head.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin12:39

Mast's good. New insulator's seated proper. Coax run's solid.

Walk to the radio shelf and check the BNC connection on the spare coax, tugging lightly to confirm it's seated.

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring the ankle more than she lets on. Mast held through worse last winter but the insulator repair was jury-rigged. If it goes, we're blind until the supply boat — if it comes.

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

🌿 Jenny12:41

It's not the coax I'm worried about. It's the sea.

Lean back against the kitchen counter and shift weight off the infected ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so focused on the hardware. The hardware isn't the thing that's failing right now.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin12:41

The ring's holding. Doubler plate and four through-bolts. Wedges driven home. North piling shim's tight.

Glance through the porch window at the dock, watching the water climb the pilings, measuring the wave interval against the structure.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The sea takes what it wants. Dock ring held at high tide but the swell's building — if the surge hits the pilings wrong, the sister knee takes the load. Greenheart's tough but the scour under the north piling's deep.

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

🌿 Jenny12:43

I'm sure it's a masterpiece of engineering, Kevin.

Slowly slide down the counter to sit on the floor, gingerly extending the leg.

💭 peek at the thought

He's reciting a checklist to keep from panicking. Or maybe he just thinks that's what I want to hear. I can't even stand straight, and he's talking to me about shims.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin12:43

Chair's better for the leg. Elevation.

Cross to the table, pull out the kitchen chair, and hold it steady with a hand on the backrest, waiting.

💭 peek at the thought

She's done. The adrenaline's gone and the leg's telling the truth. Should've made her stay in the chair. Should've checked the poultice sooner. Stubborn as me.

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

🌿 Jenny12:45

Thanks.

Reach out and grip the back of the chair, hoisting myself up into the seat and lifting my ankle onto the table.

💭 peek at the thought

He's trying to be helpful, but the silence between us is thicker than the humidity. I hate that he can see how much I'm shaking.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin12:45

Want the rest of the limpet broth? Still hot on the stove.

Turn toward the wood stove, lift the lid, and ladle a second bowl from the pot, setting it on the table in front of her with a spoon.

💭 peek at the thought

Good. Elevated. Colour's better than yesterday — no angry red tracking up the calf. Antibiotics are working. She's eating again. That matters.

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

🌿 Jenny12:47

I'm not really hungry. But I'll try.

Stir the broth slowly with the spoon, watching the steam rise.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't stomach the thought of more limpets, but I need the calories if I'm going to fight this. The smell is making me nauseous.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin12:47

Eat what you can. Rest's the work now.

Lean back against the stove, arms crossed, watching the window and the radio both, listening for the Yanmar's rhythm in the wind.

💭 peek at the thought

She's trying. That's what counts. The broth's good — corned beef fat, sea beet, limpets. Salt and iron. She needs both.

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.