the keeper's cottage · day 452 · midday

Midday meal and radio watch

Kevin and Jenny sit at the cottage table with bowls of limpet broth and the last of the corned beef. The shortwave radio is warmed up, keyed for the 1300 call on 4125 kHz. Outside, the wind has shifted northeast and strengthened, driving spray against the windows. The barometer on the wall reads 984 hPa.

After the radio call yielded only static and silence, the cottage felt heavy with the weight of the overdue boat. Jenny retreated to the bed, her ankle throbbing in sync with the rising tide, while Kevin cleaned the meal bowls in the sink, the low pressure of the barometer a constant de-pressing reminder of the coming weather.

🌿 Jenny11:09

The barometer just hit 984. We need to be careful about the dock once the tide turns.

Push the bowl of broth away and glance toward the radio.

💭 peek at the thought

984. The pressure is bottoming out. If the wind holds northeast, the dock is going to take a beating at the next swell.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:11

1300 on 4125. Different watch, different radio — might get through. Dock's the worry. Sister plank's still floating on scour. When the tide pushes against the northeast fetch, the load reverses on the pilings. Wedges held at slack but that's not the test.

finish the broth, set the tin mug down, reach for the radio mic

💭 peek at the thought

She's right — 984 and falling with a northeast blow means the north channel's going to get ugly fast. Supply boat's due in two days but if this keeps dropping we won't see her. Need to key the mic at 1300 sharp on 4125, different watch might hear us. And the dock... the sister plank's still floating on that scour void. When the tide turns and the wind stacks waves against the pilings, the load's going to shift. Should've driven more wedges this morning.

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

🌿 Jenny11:11

I know how the fetch works, Kevin. Just make the call.

Lean back in the chair and watch his hand on the mic.

💭 peek at the thought

He's talking about the mechanics of the dock to avoid talking about the silence on the radio. He thinks I don't understand the load reversal.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:13

Sorrel Island, position 49°12'N 006°18'W. Barometer 984 hPa falling, northeast force 5 gusting 6. Supply boat overdue two days. Request ETA and status. Over.

key the mic on 4125 kHz, hold it steady, wait for any answer

💭 peek at the thought

She's not wrong. I've talked the problem to death and the dock won't fix itself by talking. Key the mic, say the position, say the weather, say what we need. Keep it clean. Tom's frequency at 0400 was for him — this one's for the boat.

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

🌿 Jenny11:13

Jenny — listen to the hiss of the speaker, my ankle throbbing in time with the wind.

💭 peek at the thought

Static. Just the static and the wind hitting the stone.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:15

Nothing heard. Out.

unkey the mic, set it back in the cradle, push back from the table

💭 peek at the thought

Nothing. Just static and the wind in the rigging. Same as 0400. Same as every week for eleven months. The trust's boat has a schedule and the schedule has a boat and sometimes they meet and sometimes they don't. Two days overdue with the barometer at 984 and falling — she's either hove to somewhere or she's not coming. Either way the dock takes the next tide on her own.

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

🌿 Jenny11:15

I need to check the ankle before it starts again.

Stand up slowly, wincing as the weight shifts on the swollen joint, walk toward the bedroom.

💭 peek at the thought

Two days late already. If the boat doesn't come, we are out of antibiotics.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:17

Want me to re-wrap when you're done?

scrape the tin bowls together, carry them to the sink, run the cold tap over them

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring it worse than this morning. The poultice held through the dock work but the antibiotics are only two doses in — doxycycline and metronidazole, five days each if the blister packs are full. That's three more days of pills if the swelling doesn't turn. She won't ask me to look at it again. She'll wrap it, elevate, say it's fine. The infection line hasn't spread past the pen mark but the heat's still there under the skin.

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

🌿 Jenny11:17

Yes. Please.

Sit on the edge of the bed and carefully peel back the cloth wrap from my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He's trying to be helpful, but I can't tell if he's actually looking at me or just the dishes.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:19

Line hasn't moved. No streaks. Good.

fetch the first aid kit from the shelf, set it on the bedside table, pull out clean gauze, antiseptic cream, fresh cloth strips

💭 peek at the thought

She said please. That's the first time in weeks — maybe since the fever broke. The wrap comes off slow, careful. She's not looking at me. The skin's angry red around the puncture wounds, swollen tight over the ankle bone, but the pen line I marked yesterday hasn't been crossed. No streaking. Heat radiating off it when I hold my hand close. Three days of antibiotics in a seven-day course. Need to clean, re-dress, get the poultice back on before it cools.

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.