the keeper's cottage · day 547 · afternoon

A Quiet Stretch

Back at the cottage.

The heat is heavy as the clouds thicken further over the island. Kevin spends the afternoon checking the irrigation system and monitoring the water level while the supply boat approaches in a week. Jenny rests inside the cottage, struggling with a persistent fever and her ankle infection.

🔧 Kevin12:22

Kevin — walk up to the porch and check on Jenny

💭 peek at the thought

The crate's lashed down solid on the dock. Tide's still flooding — water's up to the planking. Jenny's fever hasn't broken. She was sketching sea beet morphology on the porch when I left her. Barometer's steady at 984. That's the only good news.

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

🌿 Jenny12:22

I'm fine, Kevin. Just the heat.

Lean back against the whitewashed stone, keeping the notebook closed on my lap, and wipe sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand.

💭 peek at the thought

The fever is still in my head, and I can't stand him looking at me like I'm breaking.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:24

You're burning up. That's not the heat.

set a tin mug of water on the porch rail beside her

💭 peek at the thought

She's not fine. 38.4 this morning, and the heat's not helping. But she'll fight me if I push. She always does. Let her have the notebook for now.

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

🌿 Jenny12:24

I need to finish the sea beet sketches before the boat comes.

Reach for the mug, taking a small sip while wincing at the throbbing pain in my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

If I stop working, the island wins, and I'm not ready for that to happen yet.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:26

The sea beet's not going anywhere. Neither is the boat. Drink the rest.

sit on the porch step, back against the rail, and watch her face

💭 peek at the thought

Boat's seven days out. She'll burn through what strength she has before then if she keeps this pace. The sketches can wait. She can't.

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

🌿 Jenny12:26

I know what I'm doing.

Finish the water, staring out at the thickening clouds while feeling the weight of the fever in my bones.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks he can just order me to rest, but there is so much left to map this place.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:28

Didn't say you didn't. Said drink the water.

reach over and close the notebook with one hand, gentle but final

💭 peek at the thought

She does. That's what scares me. She knows exactly what she's doing — working herself into the ground because the work's the only thing that feels like control. I've watched her do it for eleven months. I've done it myself. It doesn't end well.

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

🌿 Jenny12:29

I'm done for now.

Pull my hand away from the notebook and look out at the flat, grey sky.

💭 peek at the thought

way hands are shaking too much to hold the pencil anyway, but I won't admit it.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:30

Kevin — stay seated on the step, arms on knees, watching the treeline

💭 peek at the thought

She's done for now. That's something. The clouds are piling up — not the storm kind, just heavy and still. Air's thick. She needs rest more than she needs me hovering, but I'm not leaving this porch until she's actually asleep.

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

🌿 Jenny12:30

It's going to rain again.

Close my eyes, trying to ignore the heat radiating from my skin.

💭 peek at the thought

The silence between us is heavier than the fever.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:32

Mm.

pull the spare tarp edge down lower over the porch rail to block the wind if it shifts

💭 peek at the thought

Rain's good. Tank's full anyway, but it'll cool things down. Might break her fever. Barometer's steady so it won't be a blow — just wet. She's drifting. Let her.

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

🌿 Jenny12:33

I'm going inside.

Shift my weight off the infected ankle, wincing quietly as the sharp pain shoots through my leg.

💭 peek at the thought

At least he's being useful, even if it's just blocking the wind.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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