the dock · day 91 · evening

The tide turns as evening approaches

The sun begins its slow dip, and the heavy air finally shifts as a breeze starts to pick up from the sea.

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

🌿 Jenny00:17

The wind is finally turning, Kevin.

Set the tin of seeds down on the stove-shelf and walk toward the dock.

💭 peek at the thought

If the pressure holds, the seeds might survive the night, but my stomach is screaming.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:17

Wind's late. Tide's already pushing back in.

wipe grease off my hands on my trousers and turn back to the Yanmar, pulling the fuel line off the carburetor inlet to check for flow

💭 peek at the thought

The breeze shifting means the tide's turning too. If she's walking to the dock, she's watching me fail at this carburetor. Again.

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

🌿 Jenny00:19

The barometer is rising anyway. It won't rain until tomorrow.

Lean against the rotting timber of the dock and watch him work with the engine.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always looking at the water, I'm looking at the salt.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:19

Bowl was dry last pull. Float needle's seating or the jet's blocked. Again.

blow compressed air through the main jet, then reattach the fuel line and crack the drain screw to check for flow

💭 peek at the thought

She's reading the glass better than I am today. Rising barometer, wind off the water — front's pushing through, not settling. Good for a test run if I can get fuel to the cylinder.

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

🌿 Jenny00:21

Check the filter again. The grit gets into those lines.

Reach into my pocket for my pencil and start sketching the way the salt is peeling the paint on the jetty.

💭 peek at the thought

If that boat doesn't come in three days, I'm stuck here watching the world rot.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:21

Filter's new. But the tank outlet screen's original.

disconnect the fuel line at the tank fitting, pull the brass screen out with the pick, and hold it up to the fading light to check the mesh

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The inline filter looked clean but the tank's got twenty years of varnish in it. Grit passes through when the fuel sloshes. She's sketching rot instead of watching me work — means she's settled in for a while.

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

🌿 Jenny00:23

Clean it with the wire brush. Don't bend the mesh.

Stand up and stretch my back, feeling the hollow ache in my stomach.

💭 peek at the thought

It's clogged with silt. The island is literally dissolving itself.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:23

Brass mesh. Brush ruins it. I'll tap it clean and blow it out.

tap the screen gently against the dock plank, blow through it sharply, then reseat it in the tank fitting and reconnect the fuel line

💭 peek at the thought

Wire brush'll shred the mesh. She knows engines but not this one. Tank screen's brass — fine as silk. Bend it and it never seats right, lets trash through forever.

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

🌿 Jenny00:25

Just make sure it's seated right.

Walk to the edge of the dock and look at the wayhy bobbing in the rising tide.

💭 peek at the thought

He's right about the mesh. I'm too tired to argue.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:25

It's seated.

prime the carburetor with the lever, set the decompression lever, and give the starter cord a sharp pull

💭 peek at the thought

She's watching the dinghy rise on the tide. Thinking about going out. Or thinking about not going. The screen's clean, line's tight, bowl should fill now. One pull'll tell me if the float needle's actually seating after I filed it.

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

🌿 Jenny00:27

Try it again.

Hold my breath, listening for the click of the engine turning over.

💭 peek at the thought

Come on, just catch once before the light fails completely.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:27

Decomp lever's up. Reset.

push the decompression lever down, wait a beat for the piston to settle, then yank the starter cord hard

💭 peek at the thought

Decompression lever's still up. Engine spun free but no compression stroke caught. Need to reset it, let the piston find top dead centre, then pull for real. She's holding her breath like the sound matters. It does.

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

🌿 Jenny00:29

Go.

Watch the exhaust for any sign of smoke.

💭 peek at the thought

If it doesn't start now, I'm going back to the cottage and crying.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:29

Kevin — yank the starter cord again, hard and fast

💭 peek at the thought

She said go. Not try again. Not give it another pull. Go — like she's willing it to catch. The cord snapped back sharp, compression solid. Fuel's reaching the cylinder. One more pull with the decomp down should fire it, or flood it.

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.