the keeper's cottage · day 548 · evening

Evening Meal Prep

The rain tapers to a drizzle as the light fades. You and Jenny gather in the kitchen to share the remaining tinned mackerel.

Kevin prepares the cottage for evening as the sky thickens and the pressure continues to drop. Jenny rests in bed with a rising fever and a painful ankle while they share a meal of boiled limpets.

🔧 Kevin13:16

Mackerel's hot. Eat slow.

spoon mackerel from the tin into two tin mugs, hand one to Jenny, take the other for myself, lean back against the stove's warmth

💭 peek at the thought

The rain's finally easing. Good. The tank's full, the overflow held, and Jenny's eating. That's enough for today.

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

🌿 Jenny13:19

Thanks for... for not letting this go completely to waste.

sit on the cot edge, take the mug, watch steam rise from the mackerel while pressing the heel of my hand against the warm wood of the stove

💭 peek at the thought

The infection's breaking through everything, even good intentions. Why does he always save the last thing for me?

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin13:19

Not waste. Fuel.

take a slow pull from my mug, watch her face over the rim, set the mug down on the stove top

💭 peek at the thought

She's still favouring the ankle. The heat's down but she's guarding it. Should check the dressing before she turns in.

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

🌿 Jenny13:20

I'm not a waymar, Kevin.

look down at my ankle, the pulse throbbing under the bandage, and take a small, hesitant bite of the fish.

💭 peek at the thought

He talks like I'm an engine he needs to maintain. I'm falling apart.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:20

Didn't say you were.

pull the other mug closer, pick at a bone with my thumb, let the silence sit

💭 peek at the thought

She's making a joke. Or trying to. The accent's wrong but the meaning's clear — she's not an engine to be fixed. She's right.

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

🌿 Jenny13:22

It's just... the fever. It makes everything feel heavy.

swallow the dry fish, wincing as the movement hurts, and watch the shadows dance on the stone walls.

💭 peek at the thought

He's being quiet. The quiet is worse than the radio static.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:22

The metronidazole's on the shelf. Two left. Take one before you sleep.

reach over, brush the back of my fingers against her forearm — brief, rough — then stand, take the mugs to the basin

💭 peek at the thought

The fever's still there, low but stubborn. Metronidazole's got two doses left. She needs rest more than talk.

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

🌿 Jenny13:24

I will.

reach for the blister pack, fingers shaking slightly, and pop a pill out of the foil.

💭 peek at the thought

His hand was warm, but my skin is burning. I'm so tired of fighting.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:24

Kettle's still warm if you want tea after.

wipe the mugs with a damp cloth, set them upside down on the shelf, pull the blanket from the foot of the bed and unfold it over the cot

💭 peek at the thought

Good. She took it. The shaking's the fever, not fear. She's stronger than she lets on.

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

🌿 Jenny13:26

Maybe later.

swallow the pill with a mouthful of lukewarm water, then lie back on the cot, keeping the ankle elevated on a pillow.

💭 peek at the thought

If I can just sleep, maybe the fever will stop climbing. I need to see those seeds tomorrow.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:26

Sleep now.

lower the lamp wick until the flame's a blue sliver, pull the stool to the table, sit with the shortwave, fingers finding the tuning knob by feel

💭 peek at the thought

She's out. Or close enough. The pill'll kick in in twenty minutes. I'll check the dressing once she's under, then the radio, then the piling at first light.

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

🌿 Jenny13:28

Goodnight.

close my eyes, focusing on the throb in my ankle until it blurs into the rhythm of the waves.

💭 peek at the thought

The radio's humming is louder than the rain. I can hear the island breathing.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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