Naainish had also had an interesting talk with us. More with Ajie than with me.

Right now my grandmother, aunt, Ajie and I were getting ready to drive to Taos for the dance competition. And we had to bring back dah díníilghaazh (frybread) for my uncle.

The four of us got into grandma’s car. I was driving. Before I started the car, I asked if everyone had their seat belts on, and they did. Then as I started the car, I looked at the gauges as I usually do, and the fuel gauge was on empty. I turned, looked at grandma, who was sitting in the backseat, and said, “Grandma, you’re almost out of gas.”

“I’m sorry, honey. I forgot.”, grandma said.

“Grandma, you don’t want to be out on the road and run out of gas.”

We stopped at the service building to fill up grandma’s car. As we pulled up, Francisco, the head of maintenance for the resort, walked out of the building, looked in the car, and said, “Good morning ladies. Hello Mrs. Biakeddy. Mrs. Devereux. What can I do for you?”

“Hello, Francisco. I was just going to fill up grandma’s car.”, I said.

“Miss?”

“Miss Nez. Miss Kai Nez.”

“Miss Nez, you are dressed too nicely to pump gas. I’ll do it for you.”

“Thank you, Francisco. Could you check the oil too?”

“Of course, Miss.”

Francisco started pumping the gas and then opened the hood. He pulled the dipstick out, wiped it, put it back in, pulled it out again, looked at it, and shook his head. He walked over to my window and showed me the dipstick, and said, “You’re down almost two quarts.”

I turned looked at grandma, and just said, “Grandma!”

Grandma looked a little sheepish, and said, “Sorry.”

Francisco looked at grandma, and said, “Mrs. Devereux. You need to bring this car down next Monday, and I will go over it for you. But right now I’ll add two quarts of oil.”

Before grandma could answer, I said, “Thank you, Francisco. I’ll bring the car down myself on Monday morning before we leave.”

Francisco went and got the oil and put it in the car. Then he finished topping off the gas tank. When he finished, he walked up to my window, and said, “You ladies should be all set. Have a nice day.”

“Thank you, Francisco.”, I said. “And I’ll be sure the car is here on Monday.”

“That will be fine, Miss Nez. Drive carefully.”

“I will Francisco.”

As we drove out of the resort, I said, “Grandma, you need to take better care of your car.”

“I know, honey.”, grandma said. “I need someone to remind me.”

We made the drive to Taos, and my aunt directed me to where the competition was. Even as we parked, we could hear the drummers. As we walked into the competition area, it was fun seeing all the regalia even on the children. This was a Navajo and Pueblo dance competition so along with some fancy regalia there were some Biil dresses and other traditional dress.

We wandered around looking at everything, watching some of the dancers, looking at what the vendors had to offer. There was so much to see.

Ajie saw something that she loved, a native blanket that one of the vendors was offering. So we walked over to look at it. My grandma, aunt, and Ajie looked at the blanket very carefully and talked with the woman selling it. Finally, my aunt said, “This is a very nice blanket and is worth the price.”

As the woman selling the blanket was writing up the sales receipt, she asked for a name, and I said, “Kai Nez.”

She looked at me with a puzzled look, and asked, “Kai Nez?”

“Yes.”, I said, “Kai Nez.”

“Oh. Are you that … ”

With a little smile, I said, “Yes, I’m that Kai Nez.”

“Oh, my!”

“Is something wrong?”

“No. I’m just happy to meet you.”

I just smiled.

The woman finished wrapping the blanket and handed it to Ajie. And as we were walking away, my aunt whispered, “I’ll bet that it won't take ten minutes until the whole place knows that you’re here.”

“Why?”, I asked.

“Honey, … “

“I know. I know. I’m special.”

“Yes, you are. And rumors move at the speed of light.”

“But Naainish is here, someplace, too. Isn’t he special?”

“Yes. But you are special in your own way. Besides, you are only here for a short time, and he’s here all the time. People see him all the time. But you are rarely seen.”

As we walked, I spotted Mr. Yazzie’s stall. I pointed, and said, “There’s Mr. Yazzie.”

We walked over and stood there as he helped a customer. When he finished, he looked at us, and said, “Kai. Ajie. My two favorite customers. It’s good to see you.”

“And it’s good to see you, Mr. Yazzie.”, I said.

“I have something for you.”

He walked to the back of his stall, opened a locked box, removed something, closed and re-locked the box. As he walked back up to us, he handed Ajie and me each a necklace.

Each one was a thin braided black leather necklace with a clasp. The meteorite was wrapped with silver wire and attached to the necklace with a silver swivel. The only difference between the two necklaces was the shape of the stones. Mine was somewhat of a pyramid shape, and Ajie's was almost round. Both were black with small dimples.

He took Ajie’s necklace back from her and asked her to turn around. He then placed the necklace around her neck and fastened the clasp. Then he did the same for me.

As he put these on us, he told us how to care for the leather.

When I turned back around, I said, “Mr. Yazzie, these are beautiful. Please let me pay … ”

“No, Kai.”, Mr. Yazzie said. “This is my gift to you.”

I just looked at him and shook my head. Then I saw something and smiled to myself. I had an idea.

We thanked Mr. Yazzie and went looking for lunch. We found someone that was selling tacos on frybread. Was there any doubt what I was going to have for lunch. So we all got the tacos on frybread and something to drink. We then went to one of the areas that were set up for people to sit and eat.

As we were eating, I saw Ajie, who was sitting across from me look up, and say, “Yá’át’ééh, Naainish.”

Then I heard Naainish say, “Yá’át’ééh, t'áá ájíltso.” (It is good, everyone.)

My grandmother said, “Join us. There’s room.”

Naainish found a chair and sat with us. He looked at Ajie and me, and said, “I see you found my uncles stall.”

“Yes.”, I said. “And he still wouldn’t let me pay him for the necklaces.”

“It’s his way.”

“So I’ve learned.”

“But I’m sensing that you’re up to something.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. I can see it in the little smile that you have.”

“I’m not.”

As Naainish gave me a look that told me he knew, he said, “Hmm. We’ll see.”

Then Naainish said, “Kai and Ajie. Those necklaces are yours and yours alone.”

“What do you mean, Naainish?”, I asked.

“Just what I said. No one else should wear them.”

I didn’t ask why. But I knew that there was a reason.

When I finished eating the frybread taco, I thought, ‘I could eat another one of those. But I’d better not. Ajie would kill me.’

I then took the blanket to the car, so that we wouldn’t have to carry it all day.

When I was back to where we had eaten, everyone else had finished, and the five of us started walking towards where they were doing the judging. As we walked past Mr. Yazzie’s stall, I said, “Ajie, let's stop here for a minute.”

“Sure. But why?”, Ajie asked.

“I saw something I want to buy for you.”

“What?”

“Did you see that squash blossom necklace at the back of his stall?”

“Yes. But it’s too expensive.”

“Not for you. Besides, it would look pretty on you.”

“Kai. You’re up to something.”

“Who me?”

“Yes, you.”

I just smiled.

The five of us walked up to Mr. Yazzie’s stall, and I asked him to see the squash blossom necklace. He walked over to where it was, took it off the wall, and brought it over to us.

We looked at it, and I looked for a maker’s mark. And I found Mr. Yazzie’s mark. Then I asked, “Mr. Yazzie, could Ajie try it on?”

“Of course.”, Mr. Yazzie said.

I took it and placed it around Ajie’s neck, and asked, “What do you think, grandma?”

“It looks wonderful on her.”, grandma replied.

“I thought so too.” Then I looked at Mr. Yazzie, and I said, “Mr. Yazzie, I think we’ll take it. And Ajie will wear it.”

“Wonderful.”, Mr. Yazzie said. “I’ll give it to you for twenty percent off the price I have on it.”

“Mr. Yazzie, no. You keep losing money with us.”

“No. That’s the price, Kai. Twenty percent off the price marked.”

“Mr. Yazzie, I’ve learned to not argue with you. So, okay. But could you write the sales receipt for the original price so I can use it for insurance.”

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

As he wrote out the receipt, I counted out the money. He handed me the receipt, and I gave him the money. Then, as Mr. Yazzie started counting the money, the five of us started walking away from his stall.

We heard him yell, “Kai, Wait! You gave me too much.”

I turned, smiled, and said, “Mr. Yazzie, I paid you the price that you had on the necklace, and it’s worth more than what you were asking.

“Plus you gave us the other two necklaces, and I feel that it’s only fair to pay you the price you had marked on the squash blossom necklace.”

“Kai Nez, you come back here.”

“No, sir. I paid a fair price for this necklace. And it’s what you wrote on the receipt.”

“I … I … I … ”

“Mr. Yazzie, your work is fantastic, and we’re proud to own three more pieces of your art. Just accept what I paid. It was a fair price.”

“Kai Nez, you are sneaky. And you put one over on this old man. You win this one.”

“Then we’re even.”

“Yes, we’re even. At least for now.”

We continued walking towards the judging area.

Then Naainish said, “Kai, no one has ever put anything over on my uncle like that before. I knew you were up to something, but you surprised even me. And Ajie was the winner by receiving that necklace.”

“I knew that he’d take something off the price of that necklace for me.”, I said. “And I figured that I could slip him the full price of the squash blossom necklace. But I’d also feel better if I paid him for his work on the other necklaces.”

“Honey.”, Ajie said. “This necklace was too much. But thank you.”

“I knew it would look good on you, and that you’d love to have it. And it’s also an investment.”

We finished our walk to the competition area and found seats. And we were just in time for the grand entrance. The grand entrance is where all the dancers dance into the arena and show off there finest regalia and dance moves.

I wish I could explain everything we witnessed, but I can’t put it into words. It was fun watching the dancing. Everyone from the little kids to the older people. Seeing all the different regalia, we saw hoop dances, sash belt dances, basket dances, Eagle dances, the dances with jingle dresses, and others. It was fun.

As we watched the older people dance, I whispered to grandma, “Grandma, you should be out there dancing.”

“Child.”, grandma said. “Back in the day, I could really dance.”

“I bet you could.”

We watched Dee and her friends dance in the sash belt dance, the harvest dance, and the basket dance. And to my untrained eye, they did very well. In fact, they took first in both the sash belt dance and the harvest dance, and second in the basket dance.

Then Dee did her individual dance, the fancy shawl dance. The dance was in mass. There were thirty or forty girls and women dancing and all of them doing the shawl dance. Dee’s shawl and the rest of her regalia were beautiful. It was all in white. She danced so well. The twirling, the kicks, and the quick steps. It was like the shawl was an extension of her and she could fly if she wanted. It was beautiful.

How the judges were able to pick a winner out of this, I’ll never know. But as far as I was concerned, Dee was the best. And the judges must have agreed with me, as she took first place.

They handed out various awards, and the last award was the best male and female dancers. They called three men and three women up onto the stage, one of the women was Dee. And one of the men was one of her friends. Dee’s friend took third best male dancer, and Dee received the award for the best female dancer.

Then I saw Chief Peshlakai walk up onto the stage. And the announcer said, “We have one more special award to present. And, since the recipient of this award is already on the stage, we would like to ask Dibe Byllilly to remain up here with us.”

Dee had a puzzled look on her face.

And why do I have a bad feeling about this?

The announcer then said, “I’ll turn the microphone over to Chief Peshlakai.”

Chief Peshlakai walked up to the microphone, and said, “Thank you.

“Last year we lost a powerful leader. He was an important member of the Diné (Navajo). He was Chief Nastas Todachine, chief of the Azee'tsoh Dine'é, or the Big Medicine People, clan.”

I looked at Naainish and asked, “What is he up to?”

“Kai.”, Naainish said. “I have no idea. But I hope it isn’t what I think it is.”

“Me either. But I’m afraid it is.”

Chief Peshlakai continued with, “It was decided to set up a scholarship in his honor. It’s to be called the Chief Nastas Todachine Memorial Scholarship.”

“Damn him!”, I said out loud.

I know some people sitting around me heard me because they looked at me. But I didn’t care. I was mad. Very mad. I felt Ajie take my hand.

Chief Peshlakai then said, “The complete details of this scholarship have not been worked out, but we wanted to announce it at this competition.

“We also wanted to announce the first recipient of the scholarship. And that is Miss Dibe Byllilly.”

There was a nice round of applause that all but covered my, “You son of a …..!”

Naainish said, “Kai, I’ll talk to him.”

As I stood up, I said, “No. I will! After I talk to Dee.”

I knew that Ajie and Naainish both got up with me. And they walked with me through the crowd. I kept an eye on Dee so that I could find her. The three of us walked up to the stage just as Dee was walking off the stage with Chief Peshlakai.

Chief Peshlakai saw me, stopped in his tracks, and looked surprised.

Dee saw me, and said, “Kai, did you hear?”

“Yes, honey.”, I said. “I did. And I need to speak with you. Are your parents here?”

“Yes. Why? What’s wrong.”

“Honey, for you nothing is wrong.”

Then glaring and pointing at Chief Peshlakai, and in a not too pleasant way, I almost yelled, “And you, sir! You, I will talk to later!”

Then looking back at Dee, I said, “Dee, why don't you introduce your parents to me and Ajie.”

“Okay. But there’s something wrong. Please tell me?”

“Honey, I will. But I want your parents to hear this too.”

“Oh, okay. Am … Am I in trouble?”

“No, Honey. You’re not in trouble.”

Dee, Amy, Naainish, and I walked over to where Dee’s parents were sitting. Her grandmother was also there.

Dee then said, “Mom. Dad. Grandma. These are my friends Kai Nez and Ajie Nez. And I think you know Mr. Yazzie."

I saw a surprised look on her grandmother’s face as she said, “Kai Nez?”

I smiled and said, “Hello, Mrs. Tabaaha."

Her surprised look turned to a smile.

Then Dee said, “Kai. Ajie. Mr. Yazzie. These are my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Byllilly. And my grandmother, Mrs. Tabaaha. But I think you know her.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Nez.”, Mrs. Byllilly said.

“Please. It’s Kai.”

“Is something wrong?”, Mr. Byllilly asked.

“Yes and no. Can we go somewhere where we can talk.”

“Dibe, did you do something?”

“No, sir. She didn’t. Someone else did. Let’s find somewhere to talk.”

We started walking out of the arena and towards the vendor's area. The first area set up for people to sit and eat had too many people in it to be somewhat private. The second area only had a few people sitting towards the front. So, we walked in and found a table towards the back. I noticed my aunt and grandmother walk in, and I introduced everyone.

Then I saw Chief Peshlakai walk in. He walked up to where we were sitting. I stood up, glared at him, and said, “Sir, you are not wanted here! Please leave!”

“But, I wanted to … ”, Chief Peshlakai started to say.

I cut him off with, “Sir, please leave! Because, if you don’t, I will say something to you that I don’t want to say with others present.”

“But, … ”

“Sir. Leave! Now!”

Chief Peshlakai turned and walked out of the area.

As I sat down, I said, “Sorry for that outburst. But, I didn’t want him here.”

Dibe's grandmother, Mrs. Tabaaha, said, “You speak to a Chief that way?”

“Mrs. Tabaaha.”, I said. “I’ll speak to anyone that way when they have done something or said something wrong. And as you’ll see, he did something wrong.”

“Oh.”

Finally, I looked at Dee and said, “Dibe. And I’m going to call you Dibe so that your grandmother won’t be mad at me for calling you, Dee. And before I get started, congratulations on your excellent dancing and your awards, we all enjoyed your dancing very much.”

“Thank you, Kai.”, Dibe said.

“And before you start.”, Mrs. Byllilly said. “Could I ask you something?”

“Of course.”, I replied.

“You’re the Kai Nez that Dibe talks about. Aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“The one that donated the money to her scholarship?”

“Yes.”

“I just wanted to thank you very much for doing that. It will really help her.”

“It was my pleasure.

“Now, if I may, something happened today that made me very angry.”