the keeper's cottage · day 582 · afternoon

The Evening Cool Down

Kevin and Jenny meet in the kitchen as the sun begins to dip. The air is finally losing its oppressive midday heat.

Kevin prepares the seed tin for transport and works on the Yanmar injector pump while the wind picks up. Jenny rests at the cottage, managing her ankle pain as the south-east breeze carries spray over the island.

🌿 Jenny02:23

I'm going to eat some mackerel. I can't think straight.

limp to the pantry and reach for a tin of mackerel.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't keep doing this—this quiet, this drifting. I'm starving and my ankle is throbbing, and he's just... there.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin02:23

Wait. Let me look at it first. Just a sec.

Walk over to Jenny, gently lift her pant leg to inspect the ankle dressing and poultice, checking for moisture, swelling, or signs of reinfection.

💭 peek at the thought

She's pushing through the pain, but the limp's worse than she lets on. I should check her ankle before she eats—make sure the poultice is still dry and the dressing holding. If it's not, the infection could flare again, and we can't afford that now with the boat due in two days.

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

🌿 Jenny02:25

I'm fine, Kevin. Just hungry.

stiffen my leg and pull it back slightly, away from his hand.

💭 peek at the thought

Don't touch me like I'm a piece of equipment. I'm not a malfunctioning engine.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin02:25

Alright. But if it throbs after you eat, you tell me. No "it's fine."

Step back, let her reach the tin. Keep my eyes on her gait as she turns to the stove.

💭 peek at the thought

She's hiding it. The way she pulled back, the stiffness — she's favouring it more than yesterday. But pushing her now just makes her dig in. I'll watch her walk, see how she loads it when she thinks I'm not looking. And I'll check the dressing tonight while she's asleep if I have to.

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

🌿 Jenny02:27

I know how to monitor my own body.

open the tin of mackerel with the opener, the metal clicking loudly in the quiet kitchen.

💭 peek at the thought

He acts like I'm going to fall apart. I'm the one who has catalogued the rot.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:27

Tea's on. Mug on the shelf.

Fill the kettle from the tank, set it on the wood stove, pull two tin mugs down. Move quiet so she can eat in the silence she needs.

💭 peek at the thought

She's sharp today. The hunger's making her brittle. I know that feeling — when your body's failing you and the only control left is saying you're fine. I'll make the tea. Let her eat. The antibiotics are in her system, the poultice was fresh this morning. If the red line creeps past the marked circle on her skin, I'll wake her at 0200 and lance it again whether she likes it or not.

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

🌿 Jenny02:29

Thank you.

slide the mackerel onto a plate and lean heavily against the counter, waiting for the tea to boil.

💭 peek at the thought

He's retreating into his 'quiet support' mode again. It's a wall, not a kindness.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin02:29

Sit. Plate'll keep.

Pull the wooden chair out from the table with my foot, nod at it. Keep my back to her so she doesn't feel watched. Watch the kettle steam instead.

💭 peek at the thought

There it is — the lean. She's taking weight off the left side completely now. The marked circle on her ankle... I drew it with ballpoint three days ago. If the red's past it, the antibiotics aren't holding. But she'd rather eat standing up than admit she needs to sit. Stubborn as a seized bolt.

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

🌿 Jenny02:31

I'll sit.

limp to the chair, carefully easing weight off the left leg, and sit down.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is thumping in time with the wind. I just want to eat without being under a microscope.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:31

Here.

Pour tea into both mugs, set one in front of her, sit opposite with my own. Blow steam off mine. Don't stare at her ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

She sat. That's something. The lean was bad — she's not putting any weight on it at rest. Kettle's singing. I'll pour the tea, let the mackerel cool a bit. Give her the first mug. Watch how she holds it, if her hands shake. The metronidazole course finished yesterday. Doxycycline's got two doses left. If the infection's tracking deeper, we're out of options except the radio and a medevac form I already filled out but haven't sent.

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

🌿 Jenny02:33

It's hot.

take a forkful of mackerel, staring at the steam rising from the mug.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so quiet it's like he's waiting for me to break.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:33

Kevin — eat my own mackerel straight from the tin with the fork. Watch the steam curl. Listen to the wind hit the shutters.

💭 peek at the thought

She's not looking at me. Not looking at her leg. Just the steam and the fish. First real appetite she's shown in weeks. The mackerel's 1987 vintage — older than our marriage — but the tin was sound, no bulge, no off-smell when I opened the crate. Salt and oil and protein. What she needs. I'll let the silence sit. She'll talk when she's ready, or she won't. Either way the tea'll cool and the antibiotics are in her blood and the boat's due in two days if the barometer holds.

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.