the dock · day 582 · morning

The Calm before the Storm

The rain intensifies as the tide reaches its peak. Kevin and Jenny prepare the dinghy for the final checks, waiting for the pressure to drop further overnight.

No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.

🔧 Kevin02:01

Tin E goes in the dry bag first. Then I'll check the pump.

walk to the porch where the rusted seed tin marked E sits under the tarp, pick it up, carry it to the dinghy at the dock, open the dry bag lashed to the starboard gunwale, place the tin inside, seal the bag tight

💭 peek at the thought

Barometer's at 998 and holding steady, but the wind's backing southwest and the rain's coming harder. Front's close. Need that seed tin in the dry bag before dark — crate inventory's been sitting at 60% too long. And the injector pump timing. Been putting it off.

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

🌿 Jenny02:01

Make sure the seal is actually watertight, Kevin. The humidity is too high today.

Jenny wipes the condensation off the surface of the tin with a dry rag and watches him secure the bag.

💭 peek at the thought

If the moisture gets into that cardboard, the whole tin will rot before the way even arrives. I can't let her seeds go.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:02

Checked. Zip's clean, flap seated.

run fingers along the dry bag's zipper track, press the Velcro flap down firmly, test the seal by pressing on the bag to feel for air escape

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Humidity this high, condensation gets under the roll. Need to check the bag's zip and the Velcro flap properly, not just cinch it.

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

🌿 Jenny02:03

Good. Go check the pump. I'm too hungry to stand straight.

Jenny picks up the tin of mackerel from the crate and heads toward the kitchen, avoiding the pooling water.

💭 peek at the thought

He's right, but the air is so heavy. I can feel the dampness in my bones.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:05

Back in ten.

walk from the dock to the dinghy, crouch at the transom where the Yanmar sits mounted, remove the inspection cover on the injector pump, check the timing marks against the flywheel pointer, adjust the pump mounting bolts if needed, replace

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving slow. Ankle's still bothering her more than she says. Mackerel's good — protein, salt, fat. She needs it. I'll check the pump timing, but I'm not going far from the cottage until she's eaten.

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

🌿 Jenny02:05

Jenny — walk into the kitchen, open a tin of mackerel with the manual opener, and eat it straight from the can with a fork.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't think clearly on an empty stomach. My ankle is starting to throb again.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin02:06

Kevin — wipe hands on a rag, walk from the dock back toward the cottage, step onto the porch, enter the radio shack through the side door, pull out the notebook from the shelf, tear a clean page, write "I'm still here.

💭 peek at the thought

Timing marks align. Pointer sits dead on the notch at TDC. Pump's holding. Good. One thing off the list. Now the letter. Just one line. The hard part's not writing it — it's leaving it where Tom might actually hear it.

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

🌿 Jenny02:07

Jenny — sit at the kitchen table, leaning back against the chair, and chew the salty fish while listening to the rain on the roof.

💭 peek at the thought

The rain is getting worse. If the boat doesn't come in two days, I'm going to be out of way.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:09

Kevin — finish writing the line on the torn notebook page, fold it once, tuck it into the envelope marked with Tom's call sign that's been sitting in the radio shack for six months, set the envelope on top of the radio set where I'll see it at even

💭 peek at the thought

Pen hesitates. "I'm still here. You're why." That's what the journal says. But Tom doesn't know about Jenny. Doesn't know I stayed for someone. Doesn't know I almost didn't. The radio's functional. Tom's frequency — 6912 kHz, evenings. He listens. He never answers. But he listens.

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

🌿 Jenny02:09

I'll check the radio.

finish the last of the way, put the tin in the sink, and walk to the radio shack with the seed tin.

💭 peek at the thought

I need to get those seeds dry. If the damp gets through, grandmother's life work is gone.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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