When I’d gotten home from being with the old sheep rancher, I’d checked the answering machine. I was hoping that I’d hear from my advisor, Mr. Robertson, about my grad assistant position. But no such luck.

We went up to the Crest to walk and relax, and we had our first lovers quarrel. Then after a talk, a pizza, and a bottle of wine things we were back to normal.

Saturday, Ajie and I had overslept and didn’t get breakfast before we left for the dance competition. When we were finally there and were walking through the vendor area, we stopped at one of the vendors that sells beaded jewelry and pottery, but they happened to have a hair-pipe bone choker with silver for sale. We bought it and took it to Mr. Yazzie. And we found out from him that Kilchii Nez had made part of it. Ajie and I went back to the vendor that we’d purchased the choker from and found that they had a wooden box that they had gotten at an estate sale.

What was in this box?

On Sunday morning we took Kelly and Larry to the airport, and we said so long to them. Then we changed clothes and headed to Window Rock, Arizona and a meeting of the clan at the Tribal Council Chambers.

The meeting turned out as I knew it would. Tahoma Etsitty, the husband of Dr. Etsitty, who is Amy’s preceptor at the university, became the Chief of the Azee'tsoh dine'é (The Big Medicine People clan).

The sunset was a good one, and the crew pledged to get together once a year no matter what. That also made me happy. We also decided to stay the night with my aunt and uncle and go to Taos in the morning.

On Saturday morning the crew witnessed a sunrise and met the wolves. Then we headed to my aunt and uncle’s house for breakfast.

As we walked into the house, the smells were incredible. Aunt Ruth must be cooking already. We followed the aroma into the kitchen and found my aunt and grandmother cooking, and I said, “Well, good morning grandma and Aunt Ruth.”

Kelly and Larry had arrived to use the gift certificate that we’d given them for their wedding. And they had brought a big surprise with them. Maria and Mark. So we now had our first house guests.

Amy had started her summer classes. She has two classes that meet four times a week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Which limits the time that we had to do things, but we’ll work around it.

Today, being Friday, we were at the resort for the barbecue. And it was as Kai and Ajie. We’d talked with Dibe a little. Then we wandered around talking to the guests.

After we were out of that mess, we finished the drive to Albuquerque. I was so mad at myself for setting the camera bag down that I was ready to put all the jewelry in the safe and weld the safe shut. But calmer heads prevailed, Amy calmed me down. And she suggested that we find someplace to watch a sunset. That place was an hours drive and five-thousand feet higher then we are in Albuquerque. But it was worth the trip. But what was even better was finding a drive-in afterward that served ginger ale milkshakes and great fries. Now if their hamburgers are just as good.

Ajie and I also met with a reporter from the Navajo Times that was going to write an article about Dibe receiving the plaque. We also found out that he was an investigative reporter and was working on something that Chief Peshlakai was doing that went deeper than what the chief was doing to us.

We also meditated at the bonfire with Dibe, and she felt her spirit. When as we took her home, we talked, and she learned that when she had challenged me to do something for my people that it had sparked the idea for the scholarship.

Last night, Dibe had said, “It’s hard to remember that you are a boy, seeing you as Kai.”

We’d had also found maps of the parks in Albuquerque, and one of the parks had a trail that sounded interesting, and we’d taken a two-and-a-half mile hike on a loop trail. And we found out that we haven’t adjusted to the climate and altitude in the area. Albuquerque is a little over five-thousand feet above sea level, and back home is only about nine-hundred feet.

Then today, Tuesday, we had meetings with my advisor for my master’s program, and Amy’s preceptor for her master’s program who was Dr. Etsitty. And during our talk with Dr. Etsitty, she told us that she knew I was Kai. Which, for some reason, didn’t upset me. And as we talked, we found out that Chief Peshlakai was up to his old tricks. Now that did upset me just a little bit. Yeah right. It upset me a hell of a lot!

After dinner, we watched a Sunset and then went to the bonfire. Naainish was there, and after greeting us, he had said in Navajo, “Kai, I sense trouble. Is everything good?”