the dock · day 507 · evening

Evening Meal

The tide is beginning to turn, licking the lower dock pilings. You and Jenny meet to finally eat the boiled limpets.

The tide is rising steadily, lapping the lower planks of the dock. The sky has darkened to a heavy, flat grey, and the air is thick with the scent of coming rain. The water in the overflow tank is pooling at the corner, threatening to soften the ground and undermine the diversion Kevin just built.

🔧 Kevin19:31

Limpets are ready. Tide’s coming in—let’s eat before it gets underfoot.

Sit on the damp dock planks, hand Jenny a tin mug of limpet broth, and begin eating slowly, watching the water creep toward the mooring ring.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide’s turning now—water lapping at the pilings, cold and insistent. I should’ve fixed that overflow trench properly yesterday. Jenny’s here, quiet as always, but she’s eating. That’s something.

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

🌿 Jenny19:32

The water's higher than way.

Jenny takes the mug with trembling fingers, she wincing slightly as she shifts her weight off her bad leg.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is throbbing in time with the tide, and the salt in the air is making the wound sting.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:32

Yeah, it’s rising fast. Finish your broth—I’ll check the trench again before it gets worse.

Stand, leave my mug on the dock, and walk quickly to the overflow trench behind the cottage, kneeling to inspect where the water’s pooling despite the new channel.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s right—the water’s creeping higher than it should, seeping under the dock where we sistered the pilings. Her ankle’s worse than she lets on, but she won’t say. I need to get that overflow diverted before high tide hits full.

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

🌿 Jenny19:33

Don't stay too long in the mud.

Jenny takes a slow sip of the salty broth, eyes fixed on the rising water line.

💭 peek at the thought

If that cornerion any more, the whole foundation shifts, and the way goes with it.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:35

Won’t be long. Just need to make sure the flow’s holding.

Scoop away loose silt from the trench with my hands, then lay a salvaged dock plank lengthwise across the lowest point to reinforce the channel, weighting it with stones from the tide line to keep it from shifting.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s worried—not just about the tide, but about me sinking in the mud, or worse, getting pulled under if the bank gives. I hate that she sees me that way now—slow, careful, afraid. But she’s right. The soil’s saturated, and if the trench fails, the water’ll undercut the cottage corner.

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

🌿 Jenny19:35

The sky is getting even darker.

Jenny sets the mug down on the dry timber and reaches for her sketchbook, sketching the way the water is swirling around the paddings.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always trying to fix the island while the island is trying to swallow him.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:37

Yeah, it’s closing in. Storm’s not far. I’ll shore up the trench one more time, then come back.

Drive two oak stakes into the banks on either side of the trench where the water’s fastest, then lash a third plank diagonally across the flow with sail twine to deflect the current away from the cottage foundation.

💭 peek at the thought

The light’s going flat—no sun, just this heavy grey pressing down. She’s sketching the water again, not the clouds, not the shore—just how it moves around the padding. Like she’s trying to understand it, or memorize it. I wish I knew what she’s seeing.

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

🌿 Jenny19:37

Hurry. I can smell the rain coming.

Jenny closes her sketchbook with a snap and looks toward the horizon, her hand instinctively gripping her ankle brace.

💭 peek at the thought

He's working against the tide, but the water always finds the softest spot. I can feel the humidity settling into my bones.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin19:38

Almost there. One more thing to hold it, then I’m coming.

Pack the loose soil around the stakes and planks with my boots, tamping it down hard to seal the channel, then sprint back to the dock, slipping slightly on the wet timber as I go.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s right—I can smell it too, that wet-earth tang before the break. Her grip on the brace tells me the pain’s flaring. I need to get this done and get back before the first drops hit.

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

🌿 Jenny19:39

Careful! The second plank is gone.

Jenny shifts back to give him room, her movements stiff and cautious.

💭 peek at the thought

He's going to break his neck if he keeps rushing on these rotten planks.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin19:41

It’s gone. I’ll lay another—hold the line while I pass it over.

Grab a salvaged plank from the stack near the garden wall, jog back to the trench, and hand it to Jenny to hold steady as I lay it across the flow, aligning it with the first to form a solid diversion.

💭 peek at the thought

The second plank—it’s washed out. The current’s stronger than I thought, or the trench gave way under it. I didn’t see it go. If that corner’s exposed now, the water’ll eat straight into the sill. I have to fix it before the rain hits.

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

🌿 Jenny19:41

I've got it. Tight.

Jenny presses her weight against the wood to keep it steady, her teeth gritted as the effort ripples through her ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

If this doesn't hold, the whole way is going down into the silt.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:42

Good. Keep it tight—I’ll wedge it.

Kneel in the mud, drive two short stakes through the plank into the bank on either side, then fill the gaps behind it with packed clay and stones, stomping it down until the water flows clean through the channel and away from the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s bracing it with her whole body, teeth clenched, ankle screaming—but she won’t let go. I owe her more than this. I owe her the truth, the apology, the effort to stay. But not now. Now I’ve got to make this hold.

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

🌿 Jenny19:43

It's holding. You did it.

Jenny lets go of the plank and leans back, exhaling a long, shaky breath as she relaxes her leg.

💭 peek at the thought

It's finally moving. The water is actually following the path instead of pooling.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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