the keeper's cottage · day 893 · evening

Evening preparations for the boat

Kevin and Jenny meet at the cottage as the sun dips, the air heavy with the promise of evening rain.

Kevin radioed the supply boat on 2182 kHz and received a confirmed ETA for tomorrow with a two-hour high-tide window; the captain acknowledged the manifest. Jenny cleaned and re-dressed her ankle with fresh gauze and a sea-beet-mint poultice, noting reduced swelling but persistent throbbing. Both ate the remaining limpets and saved the broth.

🔧 Kevin10:16

Spring path's clear. Brush piles at the top need moving before rain. You eaten?

walk to the porch and pick up the shortwave handset, keying 2182 kHz

💭 peek at the thought

The spring path is clear but the brush piles need hauling before they wash back into the intake. My shoulder's stiff from the saw work. The Yanmar's injection pump timing can wait until first light — fuel won't gel tonight. Radio contact first. The supply boat's due tomorrow and I need to know what's actually coming.

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

🌿 Jenny10:16

A bit. Limpets.

Lean back against the wall, shifting the weight off the swollen ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He's thinking about brush piles. I'm thinking about the pulse in my ankle. We are miles apart in this tiny house.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:18

Save the broth. I'll heat it when the radio's done.

hold the handset up, thumb on the transmit button, and call "Sorrel Island calling supply vessel on 2182. Over."

💭 peek at the thought

She's downplaying it. The limpets were half the pot. She pushed the rest toward me. Ankle's still hot — saw the red line when she changed the dressing this morning. Metronidazole's running low. Supply boat better have the rest of the antibiotics.

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

🌿 Jenny10:18

Jenny — watch the handset in his hand, eyes drifting to the gauze on my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

Just a routine check. He wants the certainty of the boat more than he wants to check if I can actually stand up.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:20

Kevin — wait, handset held away from my face, listening to the white noise fill the cottage

💭 peek at the thought

She's watching the handset like it's a live wire. Or watching my thumb on the button. The static's loud tonight — atmospheric, not equipment. Barometer's steady at 978 but the air feels thick. If the boat doesn't answer, I'll try Tom's frequency after. Just once.

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

🌿 Jenny10:20

Jenny — slowly reach for the tin mug of water on the table.

💭 peek at the thought

That static is the only thing talking to us. I can feel the pressure dropping in my joints; the rain is going to be brutal.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:22

Kevin — key the mic again, quieter this time "Sorrel Island calling supply vessel. 2182. Radio check. Over."

💭 peek at the thought

Three seconds. Four. Nothing but the hiss. Captain said three days at high tide, two-hour window. That was the last contact. Could be they're already in the channel and running silent. Could be they're not coming. I'll give it thirty seconds, then try the scheduled frequency.

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

🌿 Jenny10:22

They might be fighting a current. Give them a minute.

Take a slow sip of water, keeping my gaze on the radio.

💭 peek at the thought

He's getting anxious. The silence is starting to grate on him, and it's making me tighten up.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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