We stopped to see Cousin Ahiga, at his shop, to see if he’d found out anything about the strange maker’s mark on some of the jewelry. And he hadn’t, but he’d send the information to a publication.

Then on Tuesday I heard from Vickie and learned that the people who could allow Kai to teach were getting together on Wednesday and that she and Dr. Joe wanted me there. Talk about nerves.

Now, after presenting myself to this group of people, I was sitting in a room across the hall from a conference room where my fate, so to say, was being determined.

I sat there thinking, even if they allow Kai to teach, can I teach a bunch of guys with me looking like a girl? No, not looking like, but being Kai. Could Kai do this? Yes!

I watched the clock. Five minutes passed. Then ten minutes. Then fifteen minutes. Finally, the door opened, and Vickie was standing there. She had a smile on her face, and she said, “Honey, come with me.”

I got up and walked over to Vickie. I wasn’t going to ask her how it went. I was going in there blind.

We walked across the hall and into the conference room. I looked at the people sitting at the table. Vickie walked behind the table and took her seat. I looked at Dr. Joe, and he gave me a smile and a wink. I was getting a good feeling about this.

Dean Miller, who is dean of the grad school, and the one that I worried about the most, looked at me, and said, “Miss Nez, please have a seat.”

As I sat at the head of the table, I said, “Thank you, sir.”

Then Dean Miller said, “Miss Nez, you are a fascinating person. And I think those of us in this room who are not native Americans learned something very interesting. You had shown us that we had a problem with a member of the faculty that we didn’t know we had, and this caused us a problem with classes and a research project.

“Then you provided a possible solution to both problems. But that solution comes with a fascinating twist. It appears that you are a special person, especially to your people. You have two spirits.

“Your advisor, Mr. Robertson, at first couldn’t believe that you, Miss Nez, were the same person as Mr. Young. But after talking with you today, he had to admit that you were.

“Then we had to do some serious soul searching as to if we could allow this or not. Dean Milford, Dean Etsitty, and Dr. Oshie were your proponents on this. And at first Dean Rutherford and Mr. Robertson were on the fence, not sure if we should try it or not. And, to be honest with you I was against it.”

“Yes sir, I know.”, I said.

“You knew?”, Dean Miller said with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, sir. I can sense how people feel about me, especially if it’s a negative feeling. And I felt that about you when I first met you.”

“Oh. What are you sensing about me now?”

Did I say too much? I guess if I have. I have. So, I said, “Sir, I’m getting mixed feelings from you. I think that you’re the one that’s on the fence now.”

Dean Miller looked at Dr. Oshie, and said, “Dr. Oshie you did say that these two spirit people could do some things that we wouldn’t understand. I think I just found one.”

“I’m sorry.”, I said.

“Young lady, there’s nothing to be sorry about, you are who you are.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Now, we decided to give this crazy thing a try. But, we want to monitor you.”

“Sir?”

“We need to be sure that you can teach the subject. And, since you’re responsible to Dean Rutherford of the engineering school, so he is going to sit in on at least your first few classes to evaluate you. Is this a problem?”

“No, sir. Could I ask for someone else to also sit in?”

“That wouldn’t be a problem. Who would you like?”

I looked at both Vickie and Dr. Oshie. Then Vickie nodded towards Dr. Oshie. And I said, “Dr. Oshie.”

“Good. Since you’re going to be his grad assistant, and if he agrees to it, it would probably be a good idea for him to sit in.”

“I’d be happy to.”, Dr. Oshie said.

Then Dean Rutherford, of the engineering school, with a little smile, said, “Miss Nez. This will be an interesting experiment. A woman teaching an electrical engineering course will be very interesting.”

“Yes, sir. I know.”, I said.

“Stop in my office tomorrow after lunch, and I’ll have everything that you’ll need for the classes. And you and Dr. Oshie can work out a schedule for the two of you to start on the research project.”

“That’ll be fine. Now, the university knows me as Tom Young. What are we going to do about that? And I’m also enrolled in a couple of classes. What can we do about that.”

Dean Miller then asked, “Are you planning on being Kai Nez while you’re here?”

“I think it would be best.”, I said. “Don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. Let me see what I can do.”

As the meeting broke up, I got a handshake from all the deans and Mr. Robertson. And hugs from Vickie, Dean Milford, and Dr. Oshie. Then Vickie said to me, “Let’s go over to the hospital for a minute. I know that there’s someone in the emergency room that might like to hear about this.”

I just smiled, and said, “Lead the way.”

As Vickie and I walked out the door, I heard one of the men say, “There goes a very self-confident young woman.”

Vickie and I walked over to the emergency room, and she had me wait in one of the small rooms that is used to talk to families. A minute later Vickie and Amy walked into the room. And Amy asked, “What’s going on?”

“I hope you’re ready for me to be Kai all the time.”, I said.

“They went for it?”

“Yes.”

Amy threw her arms around me, and we hugged. Then we kissed. When we broke the kiss I saw Vickie out of the corner of my eye, she was blushing, so I said, “Sorry, Vickie. We didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“That’s okay kids.”, Vickie said. “I guess I’d better get used to it.

“Now you two have some shopping to do.”

“Huh?”, Amy and I said together.

“I know you two love those long skirts and blouses, but see how I’m dressed?”

“Yes.”, I said.

“We like our instructors, even grad assistant instructors to look nice. So, you both need some nice skirts and blouses, or skirt suits. Nylons would be nice. And some nice shoes.”

I looked at Amy and said, “Want to go shopping after you get off?”

“No. Not today.”, Amy replied. “I want to go for a hike. Maybe over to the east slope area.”

“Okay by me.”

“When you come at three, bring my hiking things, I’ll change here, and we can go from here.”

“Sounds good.”

“You two sure like to hike.”, Vickie said.

“We do.”, Amy said. “We started at home after Tom’s accident. He was trying to build up his strength. And we’ve continued out here, mostly along the river. But we also love the Crest area and the east slope.”

“Don’t you worry about bears?”

“We carry guns when we’re on the east slope and in the Crest area.”

“Oh.”

“I’ve got to get back to work.”, Amy said.

“Okay, love.”, I said. “I’ll see you at three.”

We exchanged a kiss. And Amy went back to work.

Vickie and I walked back towards the nursing school offices, said hágoónee' (see you later) to each other. Vickie went back to her office, and I headed to the apartment.

Back at the apartment, I made some lunch and then started getting our hiking gear together. I had a decision to make. Since I’m going to be Kai from now on, at least here in New Mexico, do I start now? Is there any doubt. Yes.

Just before three o’clock, I was walking into the emergency room’s waiting room carrying Amy’s hiking gear. I sat and waited. A few minutes after three Amy walked into the waiting room. She saw me, smiled, and said, “Hi, Kai.”

“Hi yourself.”, I replied.

“Couldn’t wait?”

“Is it a problem?”

“Not at all.”

Amy grabbed her hiking gear, and as she walked away, she said, “I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t be too long.”

“Oh. I won’t.”

And she wasn’t. It took her less than ten minutes to change. We went out to the car and headed for the east slope and in particular, the trailhead that accesses the Armijo Trail.

As we drove, I told Amy all about the meeting. And she thought it was funny the way I stood up to everyone. I asked her, “Would you expect less?”

“No.”, Amy said. “Were you scared?”

“I had to change my underwear twice.”

Amy looked at me, and said, “No you didn’t. Nothing scares you that much.”

“The biggest problem was sitting in that small room waiting to talk with them. I knew I had three friends there and that helped. But I had to wonder about the other three. Anyone of the three could have put an end to the whole thing. I had bad feelings about the Dean from the grad school, but he came around.”

“You did bring the backpack with you. Didn’t you?”, Amy asked.

“Of course.”, I replied. “It’s got the canteens in it.”

“Anything else?”

“Like what?”

“The blanket.”

“No. I took that out. I needed room for the canteens.”

“You didn’t!?”

I couldn’t keep a straight face, and Amy caught on, and said, “You brat.”

“I couldn't help it. … So are you honestly ready for me to be Kai full time?”

“Honey, you’re Kai most of the time now. More important are you ready to be Kai full time?”

“Yes.”

“We do need to go shopping soon.”

“I know.”, I replied. “And we’ll both need briefcases too.”

“I brought the one that I used at State.”, Amy replied.

“I should have brought mine too. I guess I’ll need to get one.

“You know if I’m going to be Kai more, like full time, I should probably get some more of the padded panties. The two I have are getting a little old. And another set of breast forms wouldn’t hurt either.”

“I bet we can find a store like we found when we were at Polly’s wedding. And any good lingerie store will carry breast forms.”

We pulled into the trailhead parking area. There was one other car there. When we got out of the car, I opened the trunk, Amy grabbed the backpack, looked inside, and said, “Good. You didn’t forget the blanket.”

I just smiled at her as I handed her the holster that had her sidearm in it. She strapped it on, took the gun out, checked the gun, took a clip out of the backpack and put it in the gun. I strapped on my sidearm and went through the sme things that Amy had. Then I took out the rifle that I’d brought and checked it. The chamber was empty, and the safety was on. I took the box of bullets out of the backback and loaded it. The box of ammunition went back into the backpack.

Amy slipped on the backpack, and I slung the rifle over my shoulder. We would trade off every mile or so.

We signed the trail log and said that we were hiking the Armijo Trail, and listed the date and time we started. This is something that we learned to do on one of our last visits to the outdoor store. It's a safety thing.

Then we started our hike. As we always do, we talked or Amy sung as we hiked. It helps the bears or other animals know that we were in the neighborhood. It’s not a good thing to surprise a bear.

The first picnic area is a little over a mile up the trail. These picnic areas aren’t much. Usually, they’re only a wooden picnic table or two. Something to hitch a couple of horse to. No trash containers, because you were supposed to pack everything out. And they were maybe fifty feet off the trail and well marked.

We were about three hundred feet away from the cut off to the first picnic area when we heard something. There was a lot of rustling in the underbrush off the left side of the trail, maybe sixty feet away.

We stopped but kept talking. We wanted whatever was there to know that we were also there. I unsnapped the cover on the holster and took the safety off so that I could quickly access to the .45 pistol. I heard Amy unsnap hers. I took the rifle off my shoulder but didn’t load a round into the chamber. Yet.

Amy and I stood there talking loudly. Finally, a black bear stood up, and he was about sixty feet from us. We stood there looking at each other. Amy was standing just behind me and to my right. To the bear, we probably looked big.

I was feeling something from this bear. Was it his spirit? Whatever it was, it was peaceful. I slung the rifle back on my shoulder, and the bear and I continued to look at each other.

We may have looked at each other for only a minute or two, but it seemed like an hour. Then the bear turned and ambled off deeper into the woods.

I heard Amy start breathing again, and she said, “That was too close!”

“It was.”, I replied. “At least he wandered off. I think he was looking for berries. But now I really do need to change my panties.”

That got me a slap on the shoulder.

Then Amy asked, “Did you feel something from the bear?”

“I think.”, I said. “Maybe it was his spirit. But whatever it was, it was peaceful. Did you?”

“I don’t think. But I was frightened at first and then felt good about it. Like I knew that he wasn’t going to hurt us.”

I took the .45 pistol out of my holster, set the safety to on, and put the pistol back in my holster. Then we continued our hike. The next picnic area was about a mile and a half further up the trail. The blanket got put to use at that picnic area.

Later when we finished our hike and were back at the trailhead, we were signing off the log, when a Forest Service Ranger’s truck pulled into the parking area. The ranger got out of the truck, and it was Ranger Carter who we’d met on our first hike here.

He walked over to us, and I said, “Hello Ranger Carter.”

“I remember you two.”, Ranger Carter said. “I see you're carrying a rife.”

“Yes, sir, we took your advice.”

“Good. Side arms too, I see.”

“Yes. We did see a bear today, about a mile up the Armijo Trail just before the first picnic area.”

“Any problem with him?”

“No, we were about sixty feet from him, and we just looked at each other. Then he wandered off.”

“Was he black or another color.”

“Another color?”

“Yes. There’s a cinnamon colored bear out here that has been bothering hikers. We think someone has been feeding him and he’s associating people with food.”

“A cinnamon color? I didn’t realize that they come in other colors.”

“They do. They range from black to brown, to cinnamon, to blond, and a blue-gray. And every once in a while, white. ”

“I’m glad he didn’t bother us. I didn’t want to hurt one of the Mountain People.”

Ranger Carter smiled, and said, “That’s right, you’re Navajos.”

“Yes.”

“Just be watchful, and you should be okay.”

“We are.”

As we were driving back to the apartment, the Sun was starting to set. And I said, “It won’t be much longer, and there won’t be any evening hikes.”

“I know.”, Amy said sadly.

Thursday started out as a typical day. Except when I walked Amy to the hospital I was wearing a blouse and long skirt. I was Kai. As I would be, I hoped, through the whole quarter and beyond.

After lunch, I added a Concho belt to my outfit and changed my earrings from the studs to the round silver ones with the gold feathers that my grandfather had made. And I added one of the bracelets. Then, carrying Amy’s briefcase, I walked over to the College of Engineering’s Dean’s Office.

As I walked into the office there were some academic types standing around, I walked over to the secretary’s desk, and said, “I’m Kai Nez, and Dean Rutherford asked me to stop in and pick up the items that I’d need for class.”

“Yes, Miss Nez.”, the secretary said. “The Dean would also like to see you for a minute.”

As I thought, ‘Now what.’ I said, “That would be fine.”

“Please have a seat, and I’ll tell him that you’re here.”

I walked over and was about to sit down when I heard one of the academic types say to another one, “I heard that one of the grad assistants that’s teaching is a girl. I wonder if that’s her?”

Instead of sitting, I turned and looked at them, and said, “Gentlemen, yes I’m teaching in the electrical engineering department.”

They all looked at me, and the one that had spoken, said, “Oh … Ah … Yeah. I’m sorry. I … I didn’t mean to be that way.”

“That’s all right.”

I sat and waited for Dean Rutherford.

But, the man walked over to me, and said, “Miss, I am truly sorry. I’m Dr. O’Riley. I also teach in the electrical engineering department.”

“It’s nice to meet you Dr. O’Riley.”

Just then the secretary said, “Miss Nez, the Dean will see you now. If you come with me, I’ll show you to his office.”

I stood, picked up my briefcase and purse, and followed the secretary out of the reception area. As we walked down the hallway, she quietly said, “Watch out for Dr. O’Riley. He’s a womanizer.”

“I got that feeling.”

The secretary showed me into Dean Rutherford’s office. The dean looked up, and said, “Hello Miss Nez.”

I returned a, “Hello, Dean Rutherford.”

“Please have a seat.”

As I sat, I said, “Thank you.”

“Miss Nez, you still amaze me.”

“How’s that?” As if I didn’t know.

“Just seeing you sitting here and knowing about you.”

“About me?”

“That … that you’re a man.”

“I am?”

“You are aren’t you?”

I smiled, and said, “In body, but not in spirit.”

“You do feel that way. Don’t you?”

“Yes, sir I do.” Where is this going?

“What I want to do is thank you for taking on the challenge of teaching those two classes and working on that research project. I feel that Dr. Oshie will be an excellent mentor for you.

“And after talking with you yesterday and finding out how confident you are. I think that you will do an outstanding job.”

“Sir, I’ll do my best.”

As he handed me two books and a couple of folders, he said, “Here’s the books for the courses and the folders with the course’s teacher’s guide and other papers that you’ll need.”

As I opened the briefcase to place the books and folders in it, I said, “Thank you, sir. I’ll give them a good going over before class starts.”

“Good. And I’ll see you on the first day of classes.”

“Yes, sir. I’m looking forward to doing this.”

I stood, and we shook hands. But I felt something.

I walked out of his office and stood there for a few seconds. What was I feeling?

Maybe something. Maybe nothing.

I walked back to the apartment, took the books and papers out of the briefcase and set them on the dining room table. Then I sat down and looked them over. These books were old. The information was out of date. They can’t be using these. Can they?

I looked through the folders and the course’s teacher’s guide. This stuff was all out of date too. But it matched the book.

Something is going on.

I looked at the clock, and it was about time to go pick up Amy. So I ran upstairs, took off the skirt, blouse, and moccasins, and slipped on another blouse, shorts, and sneakers. I took the jewelry, which I wasn’t still wearing, downstairs and put it in the safe. Then I headed to the hospital. I got there just as Amy walked out of the ER.

When Amy saw me, she smiled, but then frowned, and asked, “Kai, what’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure. But I went to the Dean’s office to pick up the books for these classes that I’m teaching. What he gave me is out of date. And I don’t think a university would do that.”

“I don’t think they would either.”

“I’m going to the bookstore tomorrow and see what books they’re selling to the students.”

“Good idea. Are you cooking tonight?”

“Sure. Take your shower, and I’ll see what I can conjure up.”

After we’d eaten dinner and cleaned up, I showed Amy the books and papers that the Dean had given me. I told her that this stuff was at least five years out of date. She couldn’t believe it.

Then I said, “I’m wondering if Dr. Kilmer did this on purpose or if someone is screwing with me.”

“Call Dr. Joe.”, Amy said.

“Good thought.”

I got my wallet out of my purse and took out a piece of paper that Dr. Joe had written his home phone on. I picked up the phone and dialed. A short time later Mary answered the phone, “Hello.”

“Hi, Mary. It’s Kai. Is Dr. Joe home?”

“Hi Kai. Yes, he is. Hang on.”

I waited for a few seconds, then I heard Dr. Joe say, “Hi Kai. What’s up?”

“Hi, Dr. Joe. We may have a problem. I picked up the books and the course’s teacher’s guide today. And this stuff is almost five years out of date.”

“You are kidding me?”

“No. Either Dr. Kilmer did this on purpose, or someone is screwing with me.”

“I’ll be over.”

“Wait. Do you know how late the bookstore is open?”

“I think till nine.”

“I’m going to run over there and see what they’re selling to the students.”

“Okay. It’ll take me fifteen minutes to get there.”

“Okay. Amy will be here if I’m not back. See you in a few.”

I grabbed my purse, kissed Amy, and ran out the door. As I ran towards the bookstore, I thought, ‘What am I going to find. Are they selling an outdated book to the students? If so, why? Did Dr. Kilmer do this on purpose or is someone … ‘