To start with, we didn’t sleep in, but we did hike up on the cliff to watch the Sunrise. There were a few guests up there with us. Amy and I noticed that the coyotes were silent this morning and that usually meant that there are wolves in the area. As we watched the Sun come up, we kept watching for the wolves. The Sunrise was a very pretty pink, so we’d probably have storms later today. Not Amys favorite thing.

Amy finally spotted something, and as she pointed, she said, “Look. Over there.”

I looked to where Amy was pointing, and I saw the wolves. One of the couples that were standing near us asked us what we were looking at. Amy again pointed at the wolves, and whispered, “Wolves. They aren’t seen around here very often.”

“Will they bother us?”, a woman asked.

“No.”, I replied. “They’ll keep their distance.”

After the Sunrise, we went back to my aunt and uncle’s house and joined them for breakfast. We talked for a while, and that turned into talking about having the jewelry appraised, and I said that I’d call the appraiser later and see when he would be available.

I called Mr. Tsinajinnie, the appraiser, and talked to him about the jewelry. I also told him that my aunt would also like to have her silver jewelry appraised. He said that he’d spoken to Mr. Lapahie and Mr. Yazzie about our jewelry, and that he would be happy to appraise it for us, and that he’d like to have Mr. Lapahie there for the turquoise. He told me that it would take about two to three hours to go over it. And he wondered if we could do Noon today.

I asked my aunt and uncle if they would be available to go to Taos today at Noon.

We took the silver out of the safes, carefully wrapped it, and placed it in the lockable case, and just before Noon, my aunt, uncle, Amy, and me, the Tom me, walked into Mr. Tsinajinnie’s office. His office was in his house. Interesting. Mr. Lapahie was also there. I had a good feeling about these two men.

We used the locking case to bring the jewelry with us, so after all the introductions, we took the jewelry out of the case and separated it into two groups. One group was Amys and mine. The other was my aunt and uncles.

The two men quickly looked over the jewelry, and Mr. Tsinajinnie said, “Very nice. Very. Very nice.”

“I told you that it was an exceptional collection.”, Mr. Lapahie said.

“And it is.” Then looking at us, Mr. Tsinajinnie said, “Give us till three. And we should have it done.”

Mr. Tsinajinnie gave us receipts. And as we were walking out to the car my uncle asked, “Tom, did you feel good about him?”

“Yes, Uncle Paul, I did.”, I replied. “I also felt good about Mr. Lapahie both times that I’ve met him.”

“Good. I did a little checking on Mr. Tsinajinnie. He’s very reputable, and everyone I talked to had nothing but good things to say about him.”

My uncle then said he knew a good place for lunch, and we headed to Doc Martin’s Restaurant. The same restaurant Amy and I had eaten last year when we were here. And it was a nice lunch.

After lunch, we had a couple of hours to kill before we had to be back to Mr. Tsinajinnie’s, so my uncle said that he’d show us around Taos. We left the car at the restaurant and started walking. He took us to places that we would have never found on our own. Having a private tour guide is nice.

I noticed that my uncle was leading us right past Mr. Yazzie’s shop. So I guided us into the shop and introduced my aunt and uncle to him. We told him what we were doing, and he was happy that we were doing it.

My aunt spent a little while looking at what he had in his showcases and was impressed by what she saw.

We said so long to Mr. Yazzie and headed further into Taos.

As we left the last small museum that we’d stopped at, I got a bad feeling. Something wasn’t right. As we walked down the street, Amy and I fell a little behind my aunt and uncle. Maybe two or three storefronts.

I sensed someone walking closely behind us. Not unusual, because there were other people on the street, but there was just something about this that didn't feel right. I started to walk faster to catch up with my aunt and uncle. But it may have been too late.

We heard a guy say, “Hey white girl. Whatcha doin’ with the Injun?”

Then we heard a second guy say, “What’s a matter ain’t white boys good enough for you?”

Amy whispered, “Tommy, ignore them.”

Then we heard from the first guy, “Hey girl. I’ll bet we can show you a better time then he can.” It sounded like he was closer. Was it fight or flight time?

I didn’t have time to decide, I saw Amy spin around, and I heard one of the guys cry out in pain. I’d turned around just in time to intercept the second guy as he grabbed Amy. He’d just gotten a hand on her. I grabbed his hand, twisted it behind his back, and tripped his legs out from under him. He went down hard, and while holding his arm behind him, I knelt on his back so that he couldn't get up.

I then saw the first guy on the ground, holding himself, and in pain.

I looked at Amy, and asked, “Honey are you all right?”

“Yeah.”, she replied. “But the jerk ripped my blouse.”

Just then my aunt and uncle ran up, and my uncle asked, “What’s going on?”

Amy said, “These two jerks were harassing us, and then one of them grabbed me.”

My aunt asked, “Are you two all right?”

“I’m fine.”, Amy replied. “Except my blouse is ripped.”

“I’m okay.”, I replied.

A woman came to the door of one of the shops, and said, “I saw the whole thing. And I called the police.”

My uncle asked her, “What did you see?”

“I saw the one guy grab the girl. She turned around, kneed him, and he went down. Then the other guy went for her, tore her blouse, and the guy that was with her grabbed him and put him on the ground.”

I still had a hold of the hand of the guy that I’d put on the ground and was still kneeling on him. He kept trying to get up, and I finally told him that if he didn’t stop struggling that I was going to break his arm. I twisted his arm harder, and he relaxed.

It wasn’t much later that we heard sirens, and two police cars pulled up. The officers were quickly out of their car, taking care of the two guys, and asking questions. The woman from the shop quickly told them her story. Then they talked to Amy, and she told them her story. Then they talked to me. Then they spoke to the two guys, who kept screaming that we had assaulted them. And finally, they spoke to a couple of other people who were on the street and saw what happened.

They came back over, handcuffed the two guys, and put them in their cars. One officer took our statements and then asked us to come to the station. My uncle looked at the time and asked them if they’d mind if we stopped after seeing Mr. Tsinajinnie as he was expecting us. The officer seemed to know Mr. Tsinajinnie and told us that would be fine. He handed me one of his business cards and told us to ask for him when we got to the station.

Amy looked at her blouse, and said, “I can’t go anywhere with a blouse looking like this.”

“It’s not bad.”, I said.

“Would you wear a torn blouse?”

“No.”

The woman from the shop then said, “Honey, I may be able to fix that. Come on in the shop and let me take a look.”

The four of us followed her into her shop, and we saw why she thought she could fix it. She sold some very nice clothes.

The woman looked at Amy’s blouse and said, “I’m sorry honey, but the material is too badly torn. There’s nothing I can do.”

I knew that this was Amy’s favorite of the fancy blouses that we’d gotten from Mrs. Benallie. And I thought that she was going to cry. I had glanced around a little when we walked into the shop, and this lady had some nice clothes including the fancy blouses and long skirts.

I asked her, “You’re a native. Aren’t you?”

“Yes.”, she replied. “I’m a Navajo. Are you?”

“Only part. My aunt and uncle are. Do you know Mrs. Benallie?”

“Yes. Very well. The blouse and skirt your friend is wearing are her work.”

“I should have known that you’d know that.”

Looking at Amy, I said, “Honey. You might as well get yourself a new blouse.”

“I guess I’d better.”, Amy replied.

My aunt then said, “Amy. She has some nice blouses over here.”

Amy walked over to where my aunt was standing and started looking at blouses. And I asked the lady, “How did you happen to see what happened?”

“I was just standing at the front window looking out and saw the two guys following you very closely, and then I saw one of the guys grab your girlfriend, and she quickly put him in his place. Then you grabbed the other guy as he grabbed your girlfriend. I can’t believe they did that in broad daylight.”

“I can’t either. And she’s my wife.”

“Oh sorry.”

“Don’t be, Mrs. … Ah, I don’t know your name.”

“It’s Tabaaha. Mosi Tabaaha.”

“I’m Tom Young. My wife is Amy. And my aunt and uncle are Sahkyo and Yiska Biakeddy.”

“Do your aunt and uncle have anything to do with the mineral spring resort south of here?”

“Yes. They manage it.”

“I thought so. My granddaughter dances there on some Friday nights for the guests, and she’s mentioned the Biakeddys.”

“Your granddaughter?”

“Yes. My granddaughter Dibe Byllilly.”

I smiled, and said, “I know Dibe and have seen her dance. Except I call her Dee.”

“I don’t like Dee. I’ll tell her you were in.”

“She probably won’t know me by Tom Young.”

“Oh? Why?”

“She knows me as Kai Nez.”

“Kai Nez. ... Kai Nez! She's talked about a Kai Nez. You’re … You’re the Nádleeh?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, my. But … But she said that you were a girl. A pretty girl.”

I felt a pair of soft hands on my shoulders, and heard Amy say, “He’s a handsome boy and a pretty girl.”

“But how?”

“Having two spirits and embracing who his spirit is makes it easy for him.”

“It’s so wonderful meeting you.”

“It’s nice meeting you too. But I wish it wasn’t under these circumstances.”, I added.

“Me too.”

Then Amy asked, “Honey, what do you think of this blouse?”

I turned and looked at her, and the blouse she had on was beautiful. So I said, “It’s very nice. Mrs. Tabaaha you have very nice things.”

“Thank you. I make some of them myself, and that’s one of mine.”

“Mrs. Tabaaha?”, Amy said.

“Yes.”, I said. “And guess what. She’s Dibe’s grandmother.”

“It’s very nice to meet you. We love to watch Dibe dance, she’s wonderful. And I’ll take this blouse, and I’m going to wear it.”

“Come on you two.”, my uncle said. “It’s after three, and we have to get to Mr. Tsinajinnies and then the police department.”

We thanked Mrs. Tabaaha, paid her, walked to the car, and drove over to Mr. Tsinajinnies. As we walked into his office, I said, “I’m sorry we’re late, Mr. Tsinajinnie. But we had a problem.” And I went on to tell him what had happened. He couldn’t believe it, and neither could Mr. Lapahie.

Mr. Tsinajinnie had us sit at a table, and he explained what he and Mr. Lapahie had done. They’d taken a Polaroid picture of each piece, assigned a number to the picture, and that cross-referenced an entry on his report.

He then explained that most of the older silversmiths didn’t put a maker’s mark on their work, but that Kilchii Nez was one that did. And until today he’d only seen one other piece of his work, and that was the one belonging to Sike Yazzie. He went on to explain that all of Kilchii Nez’s work was in a way priceless since they couldn’t be replaced. So that whatever a collector would pay for it would be their value. But for insurance, it’s different, and he went on to explain that.

He also told us that all of my grandfathers silver was Sterling, and the artistry and turquoise put them into the museum quality range. And that was noted in his report.

Mr. Lapahie then explained the way that the turquoise is graded and how that affects the value of the piece, and that was also on the chart for each piece, and that the turquoise on all of my grandfather's pieces was of top quality.

Then they went over each piece of jewelry line by line and the final entry on each line was the insurance value that the two men had set. I was getting nervous as I added the numbers up in my head.

Once they were through with my jewelry, they did the same thing for Aunt Ruth’s jewelry. And I was amazed by the numbers on her things.

We thanked them for their work, paid them, and then headed to the police department.

At the police department, when we walked in we were questioned about the case. We told the officer what was in it, my uncle, who had their report in his jacket pocket, showed it to the officer the report, and he agreed that it was not a good idea to leave it in the car. Then he called back to the officer that was working our case.

The officer, Sergeant Thomas, came out and took us back to what looked like a meeting room. It had a long table and maybe a dozen chairs. I saw him give the lockable case a quizzical look. So I told him what was in it, and Amy showed him our copy of the report. He let out a low whistle, and said, “My wife has a few pieces of native silver that her grandmother gave her. And we’ve never had them appraised.”

“It might be a good idea.”. I said. “Just for insurance reasons and for your own information.”

He agreed. Then he asked us for our identification so that he could verify what he had in his report. The four of us handed him our driver’s licenses. He looked at my Uncle Paul’s license first and compared it to his statement. Then he handed Uncle Paul his statement, asked him to read it over, and sign it if it was correct. Uncle Paul looked over his statement and signed it.

Then he did the same thing with Aunt Ruth. And then Amy. When he did Amy’s, he commented about her being from out of state.

Then he picked up my license and looked at it. Then he looked at me, and said, “Mr. Young. Your license says that you are blue-eyed, with blond hair. But, I see blue eyes and black hair. Why?”

“I’m part Navajo.”, I replied. “And when I come out here I like to feel that I’m part of the Nation. So I change my hair color and the way I dress.”

“Are you part of the Navajo Nation?”

“Yes, I’m one-fourth Navajo. And I was made a member of the Navajo Nation last year.”

“I see. Girls change their hair color all the time, so I guess there’s no problem if a guy does it.”

“I’m glad, or I’d be in trouble every time I come out here.”

“Not trouble. But you’d be questioned every time you used your ID.”

He handed me my statement, and I read it over and signed it.

Then the Sergeant went on to explain our case. He told us that they’d had a problem with these two guys last night. And it was along the same lines as ours was. They were released last night because no one got hurt, and they promised the judge that they would behave themselves. Which they apparently didn’t.

He told us that if we wanted to press charges, we could. But since these two guys were from out of town, and no one but them got hurt during our incident, that the prosecutor suggested, that if we agreed, that the two guys would be escorted to the airport and put on a plane back home.

The four of us thought about it, then Amy said, “What about my blouse that was torn and I had to replace?”

“How much was it?”, Sergeant Thomas asked.

Amy took the sales slip out of her purse and handed it to Sergeant Thomas. He looked at it, and said, “Let me call the prosecutor.”

The Sergeant got up and walked out of the room. While he was gone, we discussed what to do. If we pressed charges, we’d probably have to stay for the trial, and that could take weeks. And that maybe, just maybe, these guys had learned their lesson. I’ll vote for not.

The Sergeant was back in a few minutes and told us that the prosecutor had said if the guys paid for the blouse he’d be okay with it, and if they didn’t, they would file additional charges against the guys. We told him that we could accept that.

He left the room again. And when he came back, he handed Amy the money and had her sign a form. Then he had Amy and me sign some more papers.

The Sergeant, as we were walking out, and yes I had the case with me, told us that at first, the guys were screaming that we’d attached them. And that the police had told the guys that all the witnesses statements were against them, as was their previous actions, but if they wanted to press charges they could, but a judge would probably throw it out. And at that point, we would probably go forward with our charges against them.

Then Sergeant Thomas said, “You and your wife sure put the hurt on those two guys.”

I told him, “I’ve been attacked twice. Once on my university campus, and last year at the resort here where we stay. And both times I was doing nothing wrong. It was probably the combination of my size and being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“So my wife and I decided to start taking Karate lessons. And we’ve earned our yellow belts and have almost earned our orange belts. And this was the first time that we’ve had to use it this way.

“And when those two guys started to harass us, and they grabbed Amy, we both just reacted.”

Sergeant Thomas was smiling, as he said, “I teach Karate and self-defense classes. And I think that you might have just taught those two guys that not everyone is as vulnerable as they look.”

As we shook hands, I said, “Thanks, Sergeant. And don’t forget to have that silver appraised.”

“I won’t. Have a good rest of the day.”

As we got in the car, my uncle said, “Where do we want to stop for dinner?”

“Uncle Paul.”, I said. “You’re always thinking with your stomach.”

“Tom. For that, you’re buying. And that means I get to pick.”

“Fine. As long as it isn't Doc Martin’s Restaurant.”

We did eat dinner at Doc Martin’s Restaurant, with the lock case under the table and between my legs. Am I a little paranoid? Now knowing what this stuff is worth, you better believe I am.

Amy did ask one thing while we were eating, she asked me why I hadn't mentioned to the sergeant the time that we had the altercation with the guy in the restaurant. I told her that I didn't want to explain why I was looking like a girl at the time.

We did have a nice dinner, and my aunt twisted my uncle's arm to pick up the check. When we got back to my aunt and uncle’s house, the first thing was putting the jewelry in the safes.

We then sat out on the patio enjoying the fire and the stars and talked about our day.

At one point my uncle looked at me, and said, “Those two guys had a problem with a white girl being with an Injun.”

“Well, those guys don’t know my Injun.”, Amy said. “He’s something special.”

Our day that was supposed to be relaxing was nowhere close, but we were in bed early. And yes, we did …

But afterward, I couldn’t sleep. Things were bothering me.