I had a little problem with Kai being here instead of Tom. But Amy in her usual way, helped me see that Tom was here.

Saturday was the day. It was Max’s funeral. And we’d met his girlfriend, Christine, and this poor girl was a basket case. I spent time with her, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to help her like I did Maria and Mark, but I felt that the time that I’d spent with her was time well spent.

Christine had told me that she was pregnant with Max’s child. I hadn’t felt it, but I hadn’t felt her spirit either.

After the funeral Amy and I had taken a walk in the park and to the lake, I really miss this place. As we sat on our bench, we had another visit from the young Eagle. Is he, or she, related to our two feathered friends?

Early on Sunday morning there was a loud knock on our bedroom door, and we heard my dad say, “Up and at ‘em you two or there won’t be any breakfast before we leave for the airport.”

I yelled back, “Okay, daddy. We’ll be right there.”

Mom had an excellent breakfast for us. No, it wasn’t a Southwestern breakfast, but it was bacon, eggs, toast, and juice.

Our flight was almost a duplicate of the one that mom, Amy, and I had taken when Grandma Devereux had her heart attack a few years ago. It was a very early flight out of Columbus, with a one-hour layover in Dallas, and then into Albuquerque in the early afternoon.

We were at the Columbus airport with plenty of time before our flight. We checked in at the airline’s counter, dropped our luggage off, and the four of us walked down the concourse to the gate. And, we had a wonderful surprise. Amy’s parents were there as well as Mark and Maria, and Larry and Kelly. Talk about a lot of hugs.

I finally asked, “What got the six of you out of bed so early on a Sunday morning?”

Kelly looked at me, grinned, and said, “Your mother promised us frybread breakfast tacos if we came to see you off.”

I looked at my mother and said, “What!? We’re going to take a later flight.”

“Kai, I’m kidding. We’re here because we wanted to see you off.”

“That’s so nice.”

“But, when we come out to see you next summer, you’ll have to make them for us.”

“You mean when the three of you come out.”

Kelly grinned, laid a hand on her pregnant belly, and said, “Yeah. The three of us.”

I then looked at Mark and Maria, and said, “And, you two had better come out too.”

“We’ll try.”, Mark said.

Then I looked at our parents, and said, “And, that also goes for the four of you.”

My dad smiled, and said, “Yes, Miss Nez. In our world travels, we will stop and see you.”

“Daddy!”

“As Mark said, we’ll try. And we’d better see you for Christmas.”

“You will.”

On the flight back, just after we’d departed Dallas, I said, “I’ve been thinking about my master's degree.”

“I thought you had something on your mind. You’ve been too quiet.”, Amy replied.

“Yeah. I don’t think that I’ll bypass my masters. But, I’ll work on it and when and if I finish it then I’ll think about my doctorate.”

“Honey, I don’t think it’s an if. I think you love doing the research and teaching, and a masters is the next logical step in doing that.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“No, guess. I know that I’m right.”

Amy and I were back in Albuquerque early in the afternoon, we’d had a light meal on the plane, and figured that we’d go to Old Town for dinner, so we skipped a normal lunch.

As we walked into the apartment, I checked the answering machine, and there were a couple of messages, one from Vickie Etsitty telling Amy that she had given and graded the midterm exams for her. And that everything had gone fine.

The other message was from Dr. Joe, and he told me the same thing about my classes, that Vickie had told Amy. Plus he said that he, his wife, Mary, and Tom and Vickie Etsitty wanted to get together with us for dinner tonight. And, to give him a call.

I looked at Amy, and said, “What do you think? Want to go out to dinner with them?”

“Sure.”, Amy said. “We were going out for dinner anyway. So, why not go with friends.”

I didn’t say anything, but picked up the phone and called Dr. Joe. When I hung up, I said to Amy, “We’re meeting them at seven at Paul’s Monterrey Inn.”

“Good.”, Amy said. “That’ll give me time to take a shower.”

“I need one too.”

At seven Amy and I walked into the Monterrey Inn, and Chief Tom, Vickie, Dr. Joe, and Mary were waiting for us. There were hugs all around. We were seated at a table that was in a quiet area, and after we ordered we talked.

First, we talked about the trip to Ohio and the funeral, and both Amy and I admitted that it was one of the hardest things that we’d ever done. Saying so long to a friend that way wasn’t easy.

Then we talked about the midterm tests that Vickie and Dr. Joe had given for us. Vickie told Amy that her students did very well and that she only had one with a grade below 70 and that a 69. She had three that aced the test, and most of the rest scored above 80.

Then Dr. Joe said, “Kai, you’re tough.”

“Tough?”, I said.

“While I was sitting there proctoring the tests, I took them. And I had problems with them.”

“It’s been a while since you had that coursework, Dr. Joe.”

“I know. But I shouldn’t be that rusty.”

“How did the students do?”

“Better than I did. No one flunked in either course, and there were some that aced it. The mean scores in both of your courses was an 87.”

“Either I’m too easy, or I’m getting the subject across.”

“Well, you’re not easy, so I’d say that you’re getting the subject across. The Dean and I talked, and we’d like to ask you to teach a class or two next quarter.”

“As long as I don’t have to go through what I had to with the books for this quarter.”

“You won’t.”

“Okay, we’ll talk later.”

Our food arrived, and as we ate, I said, “I had time, on the flight home, to do some thinking.”

“And, what was Dr. Kai thinking about.”, Dr. Joe quipped.

Looking at Dr. Joe, I said, “Just that. It seems that at least one member of this little group sees me with a doctoral degree. Maybe even jumping over a masters.

“I’ve enjoyed the research that we’ve done, and want to do more. I’ve also enjoyed the teaching that I’ve done. And I can see it continuing. And I feel that to do that properly that I should have my masters. So, I’ll continue working on that. Once I’ve completed that, if I do, I’ll consider working on a doctoral.”

“Kai.”, Chief Tom said. “I think that’s a wise decision. Once you’ve been in the position that you’ve chosen for a while, you will see where things are leading. Dr. Joe has told me that you’re a wonderful researcher and he sees you going a long way.”

“Thanks, Chief Tom. Knowing that you feel that way means a lot to me.”

“I think all of us feel that way, Kai.”, Vickie said. “Knowing you, you will do what feels right to you. And, you will do it well.”

We finished our meal, and as we were eating dessert, Dr. Joe asked, “Have you decided what you’re going to do with the student that wrote the letter to the Board of Regents?”

“Mr. Uintillie.”, I said. “Yes, I think I have.

“When we were at the resort last weekend, I had a vision. I saw four people in Dr. Joe’s office, me, Dr. Joe, Mr. Uintillie, and someone whose face I couldn’t see. But, I now think I know who that fourth person is meant to be.” And I turned and looked at Chief Tom.

He looked at me, and said, “Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“Why me?”

“My medicine-man friend, Naainish, told me that Mr. Uintillie is a member of the Azee'tsoh dine'é (The Big Medicine People) clan.”

“Oh! Really.”

“Yes, and I thought that it might be interesting to have the Chief of that clan sit in on the talk.”

“Uintillie? Yes. I know that name. And I think I know his grandmother. And if it’s who I think it is and if she got wind of what he did, he would be in big trouble. And I’d be happy to sit in on the talk.”

“Kai, when are you thinking of doing this?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“As soon as I can. I have him in class on Tuesday morning. And, I was thinking of telling him that I needed to see him at Noon in Dr. Joe’s office. If you two are available then?”

“You buying lunch afterward?”, Dr. Joe asked.

I looked at Dr. Joe, and he was grinning. I then said, “Dr. Joe, if this is the end of all of this I’ll take all six of us out to dinner.”

“You don’t need to do that.”, Vickie said. “Just seeing this end will be a good thing.”

“So.”, I asked. “Are you two available at Noon on Tuesday?”

“I am.”, Chief Tom answered.

“So am I.”, Dr. Joe said.

As we were leaving the restaurant, we stopped by Vickie’s and Dr. Joe’s cars, and they gave us the folders that contained the midterm exams for our classes. We then headed back to the apartment and a good nights sleep.

Monday rolled around, and we got back into our routine, I walked Amy to her class, stopped by the lab to check on things, then went to my classes. I went over the midterm exam with my two Electronic Circuits and Systems classes and told them that I was happy with how well everyone did and that I’d have the tests back to them on Wednesday. After my graduate level class, I went to the lab, and Dr. Joe and I worked on the project until four. Then we both headed home.

I spent time after dinner going over the exams, so I knew which questions caused the most problems. Later as Amy and I were cuddled together on the couch listening to some music, Amy said, “I saw Jackie today.”

“How are they doing?”, I asked.

“Good. Jackie thinks that she aced all of her midterm exams. She won’t know for a few days.”

“That’s great. How about Charlie?”

“He feels good about his, too.”

Tuesday started almost like Monday, except Amy was working in the ER. My first class on Tuesday was the one with Mr. Uintillie, the student who had written the letter, in it.

I went over the exam with my first class in Electric Circuits, answered some questions, and told them that I would have their tests back to them on Thursday.

Then just before I dismissed the class, I said, “Mr. Uintillie, please see me before you leave.”

He looked at me, and said, “Me, Miss Nez?”

“Yes you, Mr. Uintillie.”

I gave the class an assignment for Thursday and dismissed them. I watched Mr. Uintillie, and it looked like he was going to leave the classroom, so I said, “Mr. Uintillie, don’t forget to see me.”

He walked up to where I was standing and stood there. I looked at him, handed him a piece of paper with a building name and room number written on it, and said, “Mr. Uintillie, I need to see you in Dr. Oshie’s office at Noon today. Is that all right?”

“Ah. … Yeah. I guess so.”, Mr. Uintillie said. “Am I in trouble?”

“Should you be?”

“No. … I don’t think so.”

“We just need to discuss something.”

“Like … what?”

“I’ll give you more information than I was given. A letter.”

From the look on his face, I figured that he was thinking of not showing up. So, I said, “Mr. Uintillie, a word of advice. It would be a good idea for you to be there.”

“I … I … ”

“Mr. Uintillie, a minute ago you asked if you were in trouble. Show up and speak with me, Dr. Oshie, and possibly one other person, and you won’t be. Don’t show up and you may force me to involve the University’s Student Conduct Board.

“We can keep this whole thing between us or involve the University. It’s your choice.”

“I … I’ll be there.”

“Good. Now you’ll have to excuse me. I have another class to teach.”

Mr. Uintillie left, and I wondered if he’d show up. He had a couple of hours to think about this.

At eleven o’clock after my grad-level course, I walked over to Dr. Joe’s office. I knocked on the door, and he said, “Come.”

I walked into the office, and Chief Tom was already there. Dr. Joe asked, “Is he coming?”

“We’ll know at Noon.”, I replied. “He was very apprehensive until I mentioned the University’s Student Conduct Board.”

“Would you bring them in on this?”, Chief Tom asked.

“I don’t think so. If I did, too much about Kai might come to the surface.”

“What are you planning on doing with Mr. Uintillie?”

“Getting him to see the errors of his ways, and put an end to this whole thing.”

“So, you’re not planning any kind of punishment?”

“No, I just want him to know that what he did was wrong, and hope that he’s learns how his actions could have hurt many people.”

The three of us sat there, chatted, and waited.

Just before twelve, there was a knock on the door, and Dr. Joe said, “Come.”

The door opened and Mr. Uintillie looking very nervous walked in. I looked at him, and said, “I’m glad that you decided to join us, Mr. Uintillie.”

He didn’t say anything, but just stood there.

We had placed a chair in front of Dr. Joe’s desk. I was sitting directly behind the desk, Dr. Joe was seated to my right, and Chief Tom was seated to my left.

I continued with, “Please have a seat, and we’ll talk.”

As Mr. Uintillie sat, he asked, “What’s … What’s this all about?”

I reached down, opened my briefcase, removed a file folder from it, and set it on the desk. Then I said, “Mr. Uintillie, the gentleman sitting to my right is Dr. Oshie, he’s the preceptor for my master’s degree. The gentleman to my left is Chief Etsitty along with being a member of the University’s faculty he’s a Chief of one of the Navajo clans. A clan that you should know. It’s the Azee'tsoh dine'é (The Big Medicine People) clan.”

You could see Mr. Uintillie eyes get big and his breathing change. Then he asked, “Why … Why is the Chief here?”

“We know that you’re a member of that clan. And so am I.”

“You … You are?”

“Yes. And, the Chief felt that he should be here to help you understand how the tribe feels about me.”

Then, I opened the file folder, removed a piece of paper, and placed it in front of him. And, I said, “You asked what this was all about. Does this look familiar to you?”

The paper was a copy of the letter that he’d sent to the Board of Regents.

Mr. Uintillie looked at it, looked at me, and stammered, “Where … Where did you get this?”

“That doesn’t matter. Did you write this?”

“Ah. … Yes, Miss Nez. I … I did.”

“At least you’re honest. Can you tell me why you’d do such a thing.”

“I … I don’t know. I was stupid. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Something must have made you do it.”

“I … I guess I was trying to be funny. Trying to make it hard for a girl trying to teach a course in electronics.”

“Do you know how many people you could have hurt with this?”

“Miss, I wasn’t thinking.”

“Many lives have been ruined by someone not thinking before they acted.”

“Yes, Miss. I’m sorry.”

“Do you know who I am?”

“Yes, Miss. I found out shortly after I sent the letter that you’re a Nádleeh.”

“How did you find out?”

“My grandmother. She overheard me talking to some friends about what I did, and when she heard your name, she went crazy. She chased my friends home, took me into the house, and gave me a real talking to. She almost threw me out of the house.”

“So, you know that Miss Nez is a Nádleeh?”, Chief Tom asked.

“Yes, sir. My grandmother filled me in on what a Nádleeh is and how the members of the Nation feel about them.”

“So, you know how important someone like Miss Nez is to the tribe.”

“I didn’t know that before I wrote the letter. But, I do now.”

“I know your grandmother, and I can believe that she gave you an ear full.”

“Yes, sir. I’ve been in trouble with her before, but it was nothing like this. She said that I’d brought bad luck to the family.”

“Mr. Uintillie.”, I said. “I don’t bring bad luck to anyone. And I’m guessing that your grandmother made you see the errors of your way more than we could.”

“Miss Nez, you have no idea. After I tell her about our meeting today, she may let me eat with the family again.”

“So, you now realize that you could have hurt a number of people by your actions?”

“Yes, Miss. And, I have to admit, that you know your subject and can teach it. I’ve learned a lot from you. You make it interesting. You are tough but fair.”

“Thank you, Mr. Uintillie. By the way, you pulled an 88 on your midterm.”

“I was worried that you’d flunk me if you ever found out that I wrote a letter like that.”

“Mr. Uintillie, I’m not a vindictive person. If you do the work, you get the grade you earned.

“One last question. Why did you write, that the person was not who they appeared to be?”

“I couldn’t believe that a girl could understand electronics well enough to teach it on a college level. So I figured that you had somehow faked your grades to graduate.”

“How do you feel now?”

“I was wrong. Very wrong. You know the subject. And I only hope that one day I can know it as well as you do.”

“Well, Mr. Uintillie, I feel that this little talk of ours has worked out better than I thought it would.”

“I’m glad, Miss. I feel that way too.”

“I suggest that we go on like nothing has happened.”

“Yes, Miss. I agree.”

“Just remember to think things through before you act.”

As he got up to leave, he said, “Miss Nez, thank you. I was so afraid that I was going to be thrown out of school, but you were very nice about the way you handled the mess that I caused.”

I stood, offered him my hand, he took it, we shook hands, and I said, “Hágoónee' (see you later), Mr. Uintillie.”

“Hágoónee', Miss Nez, Chief, Dr. Oshie.”

After Mr. Uintillie had left, Chief Tom said, “If his grandmother did what he said she did, she put the fear of the Great Spirit into him better than we could. She’s an old-school Navajo, and can be very strict in the old ways.”

“She sounds like someone that I’d like to meet.”, I replied.

“That could be arranged.

“And, it also looks like he isn’t aware of who you actually are.”

“It appears that he doesn’t know.

“And, he never asked how we knew that it was him that sent the letter. He just admitted to it.”

“I think he knew that he’d made a big mistake and he just wanted to clear his conscience.”, Dr. Joe said.

“So, where do you two want to go for lunch?”, I asked.

“The faculty dining room.”, Dr. Joe said.

I looked at him, and said, “No. How about Old Town?”

“If we were closer to Taos I’d say Doc Martins.”, Chief Tom said. “But, La Placita will work.”

The three of us enjoyed a nice lunch at the La Placita Dining Rooms in Old Town. As we ate, Dr. Joe asked me, “Kai, when do you think that you'll have the circuit board completed?”

“I probably have another three or four hours of work mounting components.”, I replied. “Then I’ll want to take a close look at all the solder points. And, then we should run some tests on it. Why?”

“I was wondering when to set up an appointment at Los Alamos?”

“Maybe for Monday afternoon. If you’re free?”

“I should be.”

“Los Alamos?”, Chief Tom said. “As in the National Laboratory?”

“Yes.”, I replied. “We’re doing a research project for them.”

“That could be interesting.”

“It would be more interesting if we knew what it was for.”

Chief Tom had driven to Old Town, so after lunch, we dropped Dr. Joe off at the university and then he dropped me off at the apartment. I still had some work to do with the exams before I handed them back.

A half an hour before Amy was to have finished at the ER I walked over to the hospital, sat in the waiting room, and waited. She was about a half an hour late coming out, and she looked tired.

She walked over to where I was sitting, and said, “Let’s go. It’s been a rough day, and I need a shower.”

As we walked toward the apartment, I filled her in on our talk earlier today with Mr. Uintillie, but I don’t think she heard a word I said.

When we were at the apartment, Amy ran upstairs and took a shower. When she came back downstairs, she said, “Let’s go to Nunzio's for dinner.”

“Sure.”, I replied. “Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s just been one of those days. How did things go with Mr. Uintillie?”

I looked at her, smiled, and said, “I already told you.”

“You did?”

“Yes, as we were walking home.”

“I’m sorry. We just had a rough day. We had three heart attacks come in. All three were full arrests, and two of them hit us within five minutes of each other. And of course, there was all the usual stuff. I was on the go the whole shift.”