the keeper's cottage · day 585 · midday

Midday Heat

The sun is now overhead, and the air is heavy with still. The leak from the shutter drips slowly into the bucket.

The midday heat sits heavy over the cottage as the light onshore breeze offers little relief. Jenny limps to the stove, her weight favoring the swollen ankle, to begin heating the tinned mackerel and limpets. Kevin stands by the porch rail with his mug of coffee, watching the tide recede from the rocks and exposing the far shore.

🌿 Jenny05:37

I'm getting up.

Slowly slide off the cot and limp toward the stove to heat the mackerel and limpets.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't just lie here while the world drips. I need to eat, or I'm never getting the strength back in my leg.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:37

Coffee's in the pot. I'll bring the tin mugs.

Walk to the stove, pour two mugs of coffee from the pot, set one on the table by Jenny's place, take the other to the porch rail.

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving. Good. The fever's broken enough for her to want food. That bucket's still catching the shutter leak — need to get up there before the next front, but not while she's finding her feet.

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

🌿 Jenny05:39

Thanks.

Set the mackerel and limpets in the skillet and turn on the heat, leaning heavily against the counter.

💭 peek at the thought

He's retreating to the porch again. It's easier to look at the horizon than to look at me.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:39

Sit down. I'll watch the pan.

Step in beside her at the stove, take the skillet handle, ease her back toward the table with a hand on her shoulder.

💭 peek at the thought

She's still favouring the left leg. The red line's gone but the swelling hasn't fully dropped. She shouldn't be standing that long on it.

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

🌿 Jenny05:41

I can do it, Kevin.

Sit down stiffly at the table and reach for the coffee mug, avoiding his gaze.

💭 peek at the thought

His hand is too heavy. He's treating me like a piece of broken equipment he's trying to stabilize.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:41

Didn't say you couldn't. Just said I'll watch it.

Turn back to the skillet, flip the mackerel with the spatula, tend the limpets, keep the heat even.

💭 peek at the thought

She's stubborn. Always has been. But the stiffness in her fingers on that mug tells me more than her voice does. Let her have the win — the food's cooking, she's eating, the fever's down. That's three things that weren't true yesterday.

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.