the dock · day 49 · morning

The Rain Breaks

The first heavy drops fall as the thickening clouds finally open. Kevin and Jenny meet at the dock to secure the gear from the downpour.

Kevin carried the spruce mast step and retrieved the sail bag and tool roll from the dock while rain intensified. Jenny settled on the porch with the limpets and sea beet, but her swollen ankle worsened as she stood to wash them.

🔧 Kevin21:39

Grab the sail bag. I'll take the mast step. Meet you at the cottage porch.

lift the spruce mast step with its hardwood doubler and carry it toward the cottage porch

💭 peek at the thought

The rain's coming in sheets now. We need to get the mast step under cover and the sail bag tied down before the wind picks up. Jenny's moving slower than she was yesterday — that ankle's not right.

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

🌿 Jenny21:40

I'm coming. Don't let the notebook get soaked.

Tuck the dry notebook tight under my arm and limp toward the cottage, wincing as the swollen ankle hits the uneven ground.

💭 peek at the thought

My own is throbbing with every step, and this rain is going to ruin the sketches if I linger.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:40

Notebook's fine. You sit. I'll bring the rest.

set the mast step down on the porch, then turn back toward the dock for the sail bag and tool roll

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring that leg bad. The red line's tracked further since this morning. Antibiotics should've knocked it back by now if they were going to. Need to check the medevac forms are still on the table where I left them.

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

🌿 Jenny21:42

way be careful, the planks are slick.

Sit on the wooden bench on the porch and prop my ankle up on a crate, watching the rain hit the garden.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always trying to take the weight when I can't even walk across the kitchen properly.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:42

I know the dock. Go on, sit.

cross the jetty fast, boots finding the solid planks by feel, grab the sail bag and tool roll from the dinghy, and head back

💭 peek at the thought

Two rotten planks on the dock and I knew it. Haven't replaced them yet. She's watching me like I'm the one who might fall.

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

🌿 Jenny21:44

Watch the edge, Kevin!

pull the handful of limpets from my pocket and start picking the grit off the shells while I wait.

💭 peek at the thought

He's moving too fast for the rain; he's going to slip and break a wrist.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:44

Got it.

step clear of the soft plank, swing the sail bag onto the porch, drop the tool roll beside it, and pause at the door listening to the engine cough in my head — Yanmar's idle circuit still missing — before stepping inside

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The end plank dips where the rot meets sound wood. Nearly went over last week with a crate. Limpets are cold in her pocket — she gathered them this morning before the rain. Good. Protein.

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

🌿 Jenny21:46

You're dripping on the floor. Come in.

drop the limpets into the bowl and stand up slowly, wincing as the ankle shifts weight.

💭 peek at the thought

He's soaked to the bone. He's going to catch a chill.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:46

In a minute.

strip off the wet oilskin at the door, hang it on the peg, and walk to the table to check the medevac forms are still there and dry

💭 peek at the thought

Floor's stone. Won't hurt it. She's changing the subject — doesn't want me seeing her limp worse. The medevac forms are on the table. Right where I left them. Radio battery's at sixty percent. Barometer was 991 and rising this morning. Might buy us a window.

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

🌿 Jenny21:48

The kettle's on. We need to eat.

Wash the limpets under the tap and reach for the sea beet leaves.

💭 peek at the thought

The pressure is dropping and he hasn't even started the fire. I'm starving.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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