the keeper's cottage · day 983 · dawn

Squall hits at dawn

Rain hammers the cottage roof before first light, driven horizontal by a westerly gust that rattles the shutters and bends the garden tarp flat. Kevin is already at the stove reheating broth, the kettle sighing, while Jenny sits propped on the bench with her ankle elevated on the driftwood splint, the fresh poultice steaming under clean gauze. The barometer on the wall reads 989 hPa, steady, and the tide is falling — water sucking back from the dock planks with a wet hiss.

Kevin and Jenny shared hot limpet broth at the cottage table while rain hammered the windows. Kevin checked Jenny's ankle poultice and confirmed the supply boat's high-tide window tomorrow, then set the driftwood cane within her reach. Jenny sipped broth and watched the rain, her ankle throbbing past the marked infection line despite the trimethoprim.

🔧 Kevin06:57

Broth's hot. Drink it slow.

pour broth into second tin mug and set it on the bench beside Jenny

💭 peek at the thought

Barometer holding steady at 989, tide falling clean. That's the window. Supply boat's due on the high tide tomorrow — two hours. If the wind drops below Force 6 before midday, I can rig the longwire aerial. If not, we work with what we've got. Jenny's ankle hasn't crossed the pen line since yesterday morning. Fever holding at 38.8. The antibiotics from the boat are the only thing that changes the math.

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

🌿 Jenny06:57

I'm not hungry yet.

Reach for the mug with trembling fingers, wrapping both hands around the warm metal.

💭 peek at the thought

The fever is a low hum behind my eyes, but the weight of the tin is the only thing feeling real right now.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:58

Didn't ask if you were hungry. Hold the mug. Warm your hands.

sit on the edge of the bench, one hand resting on the table near the radio, listening to the static hiss

💭 peek at the thought

Hands shaking. Could be the fever, could be the antibiotics wearing thin, could be the boat coming tomorrow and all the things that means. She's been steady through worse. I'll let her hold the warmth.

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

🌿 Jenny06:58

I know.

Press the warm mug against my palms, letting the steam rise into my face.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks the warmth will stop the shaking, but the pulse in my ankle is still reaching the bone.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin07:00

Wind's west-northwest, gusting Force 7 off the hill. Barometer steady. Boat's window is high tide tomorrow — two hours. If the gusts drop below six by noon, I'll rig the longwire. If not, we signal with the handheld.

reach over and adjust the poultice wrapping on her ankle, checking the gauze isn't binding

💭 peek at the thought

She knows. She always knows. The steam carries the smell of limpets and corned beef fat — same broth, same mugs, nine hundred and eighty-three mornings. My shoulder aches where the starter kicked back. The radio's static is just weather noise, not Tom, not the boat, not anything that matters right now.

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

🌿 Jenny07:00

Don't exhaust yourself on the mast.

Take a slow sip of the broth, eyes tracking the rain streaks down the windowpane.

💭 peek at the thought

If the wind doesn't drop, the radio stays dead, and the seeds stay in the tin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin07:02

Mast isn't the priority. Engine's mounted. Prop shaft's true. Vibration fix held at load. Dinghy's ready if the boat doesn't show. You're the priority.

pull the driftwood cane closer to her side of the bench, within easy reach

💭 peek at the thought

She's watching me the way I watch the barometer. The mast can wait. The longwire can wait. The radio's worked fine on the whip before the spruce took it down — it'll work again. What won't wait is her ankle, the antibiotics, the boat window. I've got ninety minutes of scattered sleep in me and a shoulder that won't forget the starter kick. She's right. I'll exhaust myself on what matters.

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

🌿 Jenny07:02

I'm still here.

Shift my weight away from the ankle, wincing as the movement flares against the gauze.

💭 peek at the thought

He talks about the engine like it's the only thing that isn't falling apart.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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