Ajie and I had gone to the resort and back to the sacred place to meditate. And Ajie received an answer to her problem. And we each came back with another meteorite. Chief Etsitty and his wife Vickie were at the barbecue, and we found out that the University, from the President down, had supported Ajie, and had gotten her, her New Mexico License. Ajie also told everyone that she had decided to stay in New Mexico.

On Saturday morning, as we usually do when we’re at the resort, we were up early. We were dressed in hiking boots, shorts, and cute blouses. We still had our hair in single braids, and we left it that way. We went easy with the jewelry, and just put on earrings. I used a pair of the beaded ones. And Ajie used a pair of small silver ones. And we both had on our meteorite necklaces.

We quietly left the house and headed to the hotel. As we walked into the lobby, we saw that Shilah was the desk clerk. Shilah was the desk clerk who had come to my rescue when I was attacked. He looked up at us, and said, “Miss Kai. Miss Ajie. You’re up early.”

“Good morning, Shilah. How are you?”

“I’m fine, miss. What can I do for you?”

“We were hoping to meet Chief Etsitty and his wife this morning for a hike up the cliff trail.”

“A Chief is staying here!?”

“Yes, Tahoma Etsitty. He’s the new chief of the Big Medicine People clan.”

“Thank you for telling me.”

“Is there a problem?”, Ajie asked.

“Oh, no, Miss. It’s just a good thing to know.”

“Well, if you see them.”, I said. “Tell them that we’ll see them later.”

“Yes, Miss. I will.”

“See you later, Shilah.”

“Yes, Miss. Have a good day.”

We walked out of the hotel, found the cliff trail, and hiked to the top. As usual, there were a few guests already up there, and we could hear the coyotes talking. So no wolves this morning.

There was a young couple up here, and the girl asked us, “Do you know if we’re hearing wolves or coyotes?”

I said, “They're coyotes talking to each other.”

“Talking?”

“That’s what we call it. If you don’t hear that in the morning, look for wolves.”

“There are wolves out here?”

“Yes. It’s a rare treat to see them.”

“I’m studying wildlife biology, and I’d love to see the wolves.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Some people that we meet up here say that we should shoot them.”

“What! Shoot the wolves?”

“Yes, that’s what they want to do. They say that wolves attack and eat people.”

“That’s stupid. They’re part of nature. They help keep things in balance.”

“You don’t have to preach to the choir. We feel the same way, and they’re part of our native culture.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

We hadn’t heard them walk up, and I jumped a little when I heard Chief Tom say, “Good morning Kai and Ajie.”

I turned around, and said, “Chief Tom, you startled me.”

“Sorry, Kai. We just missed you in the hotel, and the room clerk said that you had headed up this way. So we came up.”

“I’m glad you did. I think we’re going to have a pretty Sunrise.”

And I was right. There were yellows, golds, and reds. And, I said, “It looks like we might have storms later.”

The girl that we were talking to earlier asked, “How do you know?”

“There’s an old saying, red sky in the morning sailors warning, red sky at night sailors delight. And I find that even out here it holds true more than not.”

After the Sun was up we started walking down the trail, and I asked, “Well, Chief Tom, was it worth it getting up early?”

“Kai.”, Chief Tom said. “Yes. It was well worth getting up early for that.”

“I thought that you might like it. Vickie, how about you?”

“Yes, it was a lovely Sunrise. Now you have to join us for breakfast.”

“We’d be happy to.”, Ajie replied.

We went to the hotel restaurant and enjoyed an excellent Southwestern breakfast. And of course, we talked. Vickie and the Chief were going to try the pools and maybe a massage, and then head to Albuquerque. I commented that we were going to run up to Taos and see a friend before heading back.

We walked out to the hotel Lobby with the Etsitty's, and I said, “Hágoónee', Naat'áanii Tahoma dóó Vickie.”

Chief Tom looked at me and said, “Kai, I know you said our names. But I didn’t understand anything else.”

I smiled, and said, “Here’s your next lesson in Navajo. Hágoónee' can mean many things, but since we never say goodbye, we use it to say, see you later. Naat'áanii means leader. And dóó is easy, it means and.”

He just looked at me. And I said, “Don’t worry. You’ll catch on.

“How long did you live on the reservation?”

“We moved away when I was seven. My dad was military, and we moved to a base. And I never heard much Navajo after that.”

“We’ll help you.”

Again we said so long to each other with Chief Tom saying, “Hágoónee', Naat'áanii Kai dóó Ajie.”

“That was good, but I’m not a Chief. It should have been, hágoónee', Kai dóó Ajie.”

He just shook his head. And I said, “You’ll get it.”

We all hugged, and Chief Tom and Vickie went back to their room. And Ajie and I headed to my aunt and uncles house to get ready to head back to Albuquerque with a stop in Taos.

After we said so long to my grandmother, aunt, and uncle we headed to Taos, and less than an hour later we were pulling up in front of Mr. Yazzie’s shop. I was still in Kai mode, long skirt, fancy blouse, moccasins, my hair in braids, and wearing a little jewelry. Ajie was dressed about the same way.

As we got out of the car, I grabbed the camera bag. It was still early, but Mr. Yazzie was already open. We walked into the shop, and we saw that he was talking to another older Navajo gentleman. Mr. Yazzie looked at us, and said, “I’ll be with you ladies in a minute.”

Then he did a double take, and said, “Kai! Ajie! My favorites customers.”

The other gentleman turned looked at us, and it was Uncle Paul’s cousin Ahiga Biakeddy. So I said, “Cousin Ahiga.”

He looked at us in a way that said, do I know you? Then he said, “I think I’ve met one of you, but I’m not sure.”

I put my hands on my hips, and said, “Cousin Ahiga, you’ve met both of us. Do the names Ajie Nez and Kai Nez mean anything.”

I saw a smile on Mr. Yazzie’s face. Then Cousin Ahiga said, “Yes, wait. You were in my shop in Albuquerque. But, you were a guy.”

“Remember, I’m a Nádleeh, and you met my male side.”

“And, this is your female side?”

“Yes, I felt uncomfortable as a boy when we first met. I feel much better this way. So what are you doing here.”

“Ahiga and I are doing some trading.”, Mr. Yazzie said. “And, you might be interested in it.”

“Oh?”

“Come and look.”

Ajie and I walked over to where the two men were. And Mr. Yazzie showed us a very fancy silver bracelet with turquoise inlays. I looked it over, the work was exquisite, and the makers mark appeared to be Kilchii Nez’s mark. And, I said, “It appears to be Kilchii’s work. And it’s very nice.”

“Yes.”, Mr. Yazzie said. “It’s one of his early pieces, and it’s very nice.”

“You know his work?”, Cousin Ahiga asked me.

“Cousin Ahiga.”, I said. “What’s my last name?”

“It’s Nez. Oh! That’s right. You’re related to Kilchii Nez. Aren’t you?”

“Yes, he’s my great-great-grandfather.”

“Oh. Yes, I remember now. And you have some of his work.”

“Yes, we do.”

“Kai.”, Mr. Yazzie said. “Ahiga has to get back to Albuquerque. So let me finish with him, and then we can talk.”

“That’s fine, Mr. Yazzie.”

Ajie and I listened as Mr. Yazzie and Ahiga worked on a trade of a few pieces of Mr. Yazzie’s work for the bracelet. Once they were both happy and the trade was completed, Cousin Ahiga went to leave, and as we were saying so long to him we told him that the next time we were in Old Town that we’d stop in and see him, and he left.

Then Mr. Yazzie said, “Now I have another piece of your grandfather’s work.”

“That’s good, Mr. Yazzie.”

But something was bothering me, so I asked, “Could I see the bracelet again?”

As he handed me the bracelet, Mr. Yazzie said, “Of course you can, Kai.”

I looked it over carefully. And said, “So this is one of Kilchii’s early pieces?”

“Yes. His early work was also outstanding. I don’t know who taught him, but whoever it was did an excellent job.”

As I handed the bracelet back to Mr. Yazzie, he said, “What can I do for my two favorite customers?”

Ajie and I both took off our meteorite necklaces and laid them on the counter. Then Ajie took her meteorite out of her pocket and set it next to her necklace, and I took my new meteorite and placed it next to my meteorite. Then I said, “Naainish said to bring these to you to add to our necklaces.”

“Two more meteorites?”, Mr. Yazzie said.

“Yes.”

“You were at the sacred place again?”

“Yes, Ajie needed help with a problem, and the spirits there helped her see the answers. And I think that you need to be sure that the correct meteorite is with the correct necklace.”

“Why?”

“When we picked up the meteorites, Ajie couldn’t pick up mine, and I couldn’t pick up hers.”

“Oh.”

“And, I can’t put her necklace on, and she can’t put mine on. The clasps won’t work.”

“Oh. That is strange.”

“Yes.”, Ajie said. “But when you’re dealing with spirits everything is strange.”

“Yes, it can be.”, Mr. Yazzie said. “Give me a couple of hours on the necklaces. Then you can pick it up.”

“Sounds good. We’ll go into downtown Taos and look around, and we’ll be back around lunch. Is there anything that we can bring you?”

“Thanks, Ajie. But, I have my lunch with me.”

“And, Mr. Yazzie.”, I said. “This time, please let us pay you.”

“Okay, Kai. But, just this time.”

Ajie and I drove into downtown Taos and parked. Before we got out of the car, Ajie asked me, “Kai, you’ve been too quiet. What’s bothering you?”

“I’m not sure.”, I replied. “But there was something about that maker’s mark on that bracelet that bothers me.”

“What?”

“There was something that just wasn’t right. It was close to Kilchii’s mark, but it was somehow different.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because I’m not sure.”

“Take a better look when we get back to the shop.”

“I will.”

We spent some time window shopping around the Taos Plaza and went into a few of the shops. We found a weaver who was doing some beautiful things, and we watched her work for a little while.

As we walked some more, I saw a young boy point at us, and we heard him say, “Mommy are they, hippies?”

We heard his mother say, “Shh honey.”

I smiled at him, and Ajie and I walked over to them. Mom and dad looked at us, and mom said, “I’m sorry. He’s just curious.”

“That’s all right.”, I said. “I was very curious at his age too. And I still am.”

Then I looked at the little boy, stooped down to his level, and asked, “What’s your name?”

The little boy looked up at his mom, and she said, “It’s okay, honey. Go on and tell her your name.”

He looked at me and said, “My name is Adam. What’s yours?”

“Adam, that’s a very nice name.”, I said. “My name is Kai. And my friend and I are not hippies. We’re American Indians. We’re member's of the Navajo Nation.”

“You’re real Indians!?”

“Yes. My full name is Kai Nez, and my friend is Ajie Nez.”

“Those are funny names.”

“Those are our Indian names. And they mean something, Kai means willow tree and Ajie means my heart, and out last name Nez means tall. And, now you can go home and tell your friends that you met real Indians.”

“Oh cool.”

I stood up, and mom said, “Thank you. You made Adam’s day.”

“It was no problem. I like talking to people.”, I replied. “Even young people.”

We continued walking and then found a place for lunch. It was a nice Mexican restaurant.

After we’d eaten, we headed back for Mr. Yazzie’s shop. As we walked in, he looked up and smiled. And I asked, “Any problems with those stones, Mr. Yazzie?”

“No, Kai.”, Mr. Yazzie said. “I added them so that the new one is below the original one.”

He held up one of the necklaces and showed us. He’d done an excellent job. The new stone looked like it had always been there. Like with the first stones he’d wrapped the new ones with silver wire and attached to the first stone. And Ajie said, “That looks wonderful, Mr. Yazzie.”

“Thank you Ajie. Only the best for my best customers.”

“How much do I owe you, Mr. Yazzie?”, I asked.

“Fifteen dollars.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. It was easy to do. I re-wrapped the first stone with the new one using new silver wire so that they’re like one piece. And then reattached them to the swivel.”

“That’s great, Mr. Yazzie. They look really nice.”

He handed one necklace to Ajie and one to me. I went to put on the one he'd given me, and the clasp wouldn’t open. I showed Mr. Yazzie the clasp and told him that this necklace was Ajie's. So I traded necklaces with Ajie, and both clasps worked fine.

Mr. Yazzie shook his head, and said, “I see what you mean about not being able to wear each other’s necklaces. Strange.”

“Mr. Yazzie.”, I asked. “Could I have another look at the bracelet that you got from Ahiga Biakeddy?”

“Sure Kai.”, Mr. Yazzie replied. “I’ll get it. It’s in the safe.”

“And a magnifying glass, if you have one.”

Shortly Mr. Yazzie set the bracelet and a magnifying glass on the counter. I took off my bone Concho choker and set it down next to the bracelet. Then I took the magnifying glass and looked at the two maker’s marks. They were similar, but not quite the same.

Mr. Yazzie asked, “Kai, is something wrong?”

“I’m not sure.”, I replied. “When I looked at the bracelet earlier today, the maker’s mark didn’t look right. And it’s bothered me all day. So I had to check.”

“Kai, this is an old piece. It’s probably one of the first pieces that Kilchii ever made. And it was before he had a metal stamp to place his maker’s mark on his work, so it was engraved by hand. So it looks a little different.

“I carefully verified this piece before I traded for it. I know the maker’s mark was good. And I even used silver acid to check the purity of the silver, it’s not sterling, but it’s high quality. And the work is exceptional.”

“I’m sorry that I was concerned. But I didn’t want to see you ripped off.”

“Kai, thank you. It’s nice to know that I have someone like you watching over me.

“You know, Kai. It would be good to know where Kilchii’s maker’s mark stamp is, if it still exists.”

“Why?”

“So that someone can’t use it to make fake silver pieces.”

“That wouldn’t be good.”

“No, it would tarnish Kilchii memory.”

“What would this stamp look like?”

“Hard to say. Let me show you mine.”

Mr. Yazzie went to the back room and came back holding a round steel rod that was maybe a half an inch in diameter and about four inches long. As he showed us the end that had a reverse image of his maker’s mark, he said, “It would look something like this. But, it could also be square, and maybe longer or shorter.”

“How do you use it?”, I asked.

“You place it on the piece where you want to place your mark and tap it with a mallet. You learn over time how hard to tap it to leave the mark the way you want it.”

We talked a little more, I paid Mr. Yazzie, and we headed back to Albuquerque. The drive takes about two-and-a-half hours.

The first thing that Ajie did when we were back at the apartment was check the mail. There were four letters, and only one she cared about, if it were there, would be from the New Mexico Board of Nursing. And it was there. She carefully opened it and looked inside. I saw a smile on her face as she took out her New Mexico nursing license. So I asked, “Was it worth it?”

“Honey.”, Ajie replied. “It was more than worth it. That woman made it painful, but not impossible. And I had the help of some very nice people that made it bearable.”

“Well, this nice person wants to take you out to dinner. Where would you like to go?”

Before we left for dinner, I called my Aunt Ruth and talked to her about what Mr. Yazzie had told me about Kilchii’s maker’s mark. Aunt Ruth felt that all of his things were probably destroyed or spread out among family members. But, she said that she’d ask around the family.

An hour later we were sitting down to an excellent pizza and a bottle of wine at Nunzio's Pizza. When we finished eating, the bottle of wine was empty, and we took half the pizza home with us.

We had walked to Nunzio's, and we should have believed the warning that the red sky had given us this morning. Halfway home the rain started, and by the time we were back we were soaking wet and so was the leftover pizza. On top of it, we were giggling like two school girls over getting wet.

Once we were in the apartment and had stopped giggling, we stripped out of our wet things and dried each other off. And that turned into other things including Ajie not paying any attention to the thunderstorm as it rolled through. Of course, she loved her foot massage.