the dock · day 923 · dawn

The Calm Before Arrival

Kevin and Jenny stand at the edge of the dock, watching the horizon under the light onshore breeze. Jenny shifts her weight off her wrapped ankle while Kevin checks the tension on the dinghy mooring lines.

Kevin spends the morning inspecting the structural integrity of the dock and north pilings ahead of the supply boat arrival. Jenny stays near the cottage, managing her ankle pain and organizing the seed tins while the humidity remains high.

🔧 Kevin07:22

Lines are holding. Dinghy's riding easy.

check the bow spring tension with one hand, the other resting on the worn gunwale

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring the left side. The red line on her ankle hasn't retreated past yesterday's mark. Boat's due on the high tide — two hours, maybe three. I've got the impeller coming, the mail, the rest. But she's watching the horizon like she's calculating whether to get on it.

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

🌿 Jenny07:23

The dock planks are still soft. Don't lean too hard on the edge.

Lean against the cottage post, wincing as the throb hits my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide is high, and the pressure is rising—if that boat doesn't come tomorrow, I'm stuck with this rotting wood and a fever.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin07:24

Noted. I'll stay off the soft section.

step back onto the sound timber, boots finding the sistered joist beneath

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The third plank from the seaward end gives under a full man's weight. I marked it with chalk yesterday. She noticed.

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

🌿 Jenny07:25

I need to check the pH on the ridge before the sun gets too high.

Wipe sweat from my brow with the back of a hand, staring at the water.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks it's just the wood, but the whole island is shifting and I'm sinking with it.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin07:26

Take the cane. And the radio.

unclip the handheld VHF from my belt and hold it out to her

💭 peek at the thought

The ridge. She's been up there three days running, pH strips and notebook. The slope's moving — she knows it, I know it. The intercept trench is holding for now. But she goes up there like she's proving something. Her ankle can't take the descent.

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

🌿 Jenny07:27

I'm fine. I just need to get the sketches done.

Take the radio with trembling fingers, the plastic cold against my palm.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't even walk to the ridge without the world tilting, and he treats me like I'm glass.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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