Dr. Joe and I taken Amy and Mary, Dr. Joe’s wife, out for pizza and I’d a had an epiphany of what Dr. Fontheim had meant when he had said, Apollo. Our circuit and its other parts were meant to be a small part of the revitalization of the Apollo Spacecraft program after the tragic fire.

The word about the job offers got out to Amy before I wanted it to. I wanted to be alone with her when I told her. But, the best-laid plans. So, we ended up talking about the two offers while we waited for our pizza. I need to meditate.

Later as we were standing out in front of Nunzio's saying goodnight to Dr. Joe and Mary, Dr. Joe asked, “When do you think that you could go up to the resort?”

I thought for a few seconds, then said, “I know that we could run up to the resort after we finish with our classes on any day, but being back to teach the next morning would be difficult.”

“Your Monday, Wednesday, and Friday classes don’t start until nine.”, Dr. Joe said.

“That may be doable. If we run up tomorrow or Thursday after classes, and leave the resort before seven the following morning.”

“What if we’re up all night?”, Amy asked.

“That would be a problem.”

“I could fill in for you.”, Dr. Joe said. “That way you wouldn’t have to rush.”

“You’d do that?”

“Sure. Your students wouldn’t like it. But, I’ll do it.”

“Wouldn’t like it. Why not?”

“They weren’t happy when you weren’t there for the exams.”

“They’ll live with it. I’ll give you my class notes for my two Wednesday classes, which are the same. But, we’ll try to be back.”

I looked at Amy, and asked, “You’re not working in the ER on Tuesday are you?”

“No. But, I am teaching my two classes on Wednesday starting at eight, and I have my eleven o’clock grad level class.”

“Hmm. That could be a problem.”

“Let me see if I can get either Vickie or Cheryl to cover for me.”

When Amy and I were back at the apartment, she called Cheryl, who is the other graduate assistant in the Nursing School, and asked if she could cover for her on Wednesday morning. Cheryl agreed as she wants to leave the day before the Thanksgiving break started, and Amy agreed to take her classes that day.

So, with Dr. Joe covering my classes and Cheryl covering Amy’s classes, we wouldn’t have to be back until eleven for Amy’s grad level class. So, I called my Aunt Ruth and told her what was going on. I also asked her not to tell anyone until we did. She was surprised about the job offers, but I didn’t mention who they were from. And I told her that we’d like to use the remote hogan, and she said that would be no problem.

On Tuesday, before my first class, I set Dr. Joe up with the class notes for my Wednesday Electronic Circuits and Systems classes. Then after I taught my classes and taken my grad-level class, I was back at the apartment. Amy had everything packed in the car, so after a quick lunch, Amy and I headed for the resort. Two hours later we were walking into my aunt and uncle’s house.

My Aunt Ruth and Uncle Paul were there, and as we walked in, my Aunt Ruth said, “Hi you two.”

“Hi, Aunt Ruth. Uncle Paul.”, Amy and I said together.

“So what’s this about a job?”, Uncle Paul asked.

I explained what the university had offered me, then Amy said, “Kai also received an offer from the Los Alamos National Laboratory.”

“And, you have to think about that?”, Uncle Paul said. “Isn’t the National Laboratory a given?”

“No, Uncle Paul. I’ve already written off the National Laboratory.”, I replied.

“Why!?”

“Think about it. What are they going to find when they do a background check on me. As they go back, Kai will disappear, and Tom will appear. I don’t think it would be a good thing. Do you?”

“You’re right. It wouldn’t be a good thing.”

“Besides, I like the university setting. If I decided to even take that.”

“If you decided to take it?”, Aunt Ruth said.

“I’m not sure if I’m ready for this or if it’s where I want my life to go.”

“That’s why you need to meditate?”

“Yes.”

Handing me a note, Aunt Ruth said, “Naainish stopped by this morning and left this note for you.”

I opened the note, and Naainish had written:

“Kai. Ajie. You need to sit a vigil tonight in the remote hogan. The spirits will help you answer your questions. They will be strong. Tonight is a full Moon.

Listen to the wind, it talks.
Listen to the silence, it speaks.
Listen to your heart, it knows.”

I shook my head, and thought, ‘Naainish, I’ll never understand how you know these things.’

I showed the note to Amy, she read it, and said, “Naainish. How does he know?”

“He just does.”, I replied.

“Kids.”, my aunt said. “Knowing that sitting a vigil could take all night, I have some wool blankets for you to take. It gets down to about twenty at night this time of year, and they’ll help keep you warm.”

“Thanks, Aunt Ruth.”, I said. “Uncle Paul, do you know if there’s any firewood at the hogan?”

“Yes.”, Uncle Paul replied. “When your aunt said that you might be sitting a vigil at the hogan, I had the guys take a fresh supply of firewood out there.”

“Thank them for us.”

“I will.”

“I think we’re going to make use of one of the thermal pools before dinner.”

“Okay.”, Aunt Ruth said. “Then we’ll make super nachos for dinner.”

“Really?”, I said. “And, even jalapeno cheddar cornbread?”

“Of course. And how about some New Mexico sopapillas and we can cover them with honey for dessert.”

“Aunt Ruth.”, Amy said. “You’re going to spoil us.”

“Of course I am.”

Amy and I went to the thermal pools, soaked for about half an hour in the Kiva Pool, then we ran to the main bathhouse through the fifty-degree air and took showers. After we’d showered, dried off well, and dressed, we walked through the hotel on the way to my aunt and uncle’s house. As we walked, I said, “Long hair sure can be a pain.”

“How’s that?”, Amy asked.

“It takes forever to dry.”

She grinned, and said, “Cut it short.”

“No. You know how the Navajo feel about their hair.”

“Yes, it’s your culture, your memories, and your choice. So, stop complaining and live with it.”

As we walked into my aunt and uncle’s house, we found my aunt in the kitchen, and she asked, “So, how was your soak?”

“Wonderful as usual.”, I replied.

“Put on aprons, and let's get started on dinner.”

A while later the four of us were sitting down to a wonderful dinner and dessert. And as we were talking, Aunt Ruth asked, “Did you bring any cold weather clothes?”

“Yes.”, I said. “Our mothers sent us a care package of cold weather things. Boots, coats, gloves, and hats.”

“That’s good. Everyone thinks of this area as a hot desert, which it can be in the summer, but it also gets cold here in the winter.”

“I know. That’s why we had them send things. Plus we bought some heavier weight skirts and blouses.”

“That was good thinking. It won’t be as cold in Albuquerque as it is here, but it does get cold there too.”

“We like the Sandia Crest too. And we even had a snowball fight up there the other day.”

“I’ve never had a snowball fight.”, Uncle Paul said.

“Come and visit, we’ll take you up there, and we can have one.”, I said with a grin.

“I’ll pass.”

After we’d cleaned up the dinner dishes, Ajie and I went and changed. We put on the heavier long skirts, the heavier blouses, and the wrap moccasins with wool socks. Then we slipped into coats and put on gloves. As we walked into the living room, my aunt asked, “Going to the hogan already?”

“No, we want to hike up the cliff trail and check on the little tree.”

“Take a flashlight. And take it with you to the hogan, you’ll need it until you get a fire started.”

I pulled a flashlight out of my pocket and showed it to her, and said, “It pays to be prepared.”

“Have a safe hike.”

“We will. We’ll see you in a little bit.”

We walked out of the house and headed for the cliff trail. Tonight was supposed to be a full Moon, but the cloud cover hid the Moon and stars and made it a very dark night. So, the flashlight was a necessary thing. We quickly made it to the cliff top, and to the little tree.

The tree must like it here. It had grown. And it looked good and healthy. Ajie and I stood there for a few minutes.

We walked back down the trail and stopped at my aunt and uncle’s house. My uncle asked, “So, how’s the tree?”

“It looks good, Uncle Paul.”, Ajie said.

“The last time I was up there, it looked good too. I think it’s going to make a good addition to the cliff top.”

“It is. And I think it’s time that we should be heading to the hogan.”, I said.

“Will we see you for breakfast?”, my aunt asked.

“Yes, Ajie has an eleven o’clock class, so we’ll need to leave before nine.”

“There’s a rifle for you in the entryway.”, my uncle said.

“A rifle. Why?”

“Just in case. You never know what might be wandering around.”

“Okay. I guess better safe than sorry.”

“Yes. It’s not loaded, but there’s ammunition in the bag hanging from it.”

“Thanks, Uncle Paul. We’ll see you in the morning.”

“Oh.”, Uncle Paul said. “There’s also a small shovel there too.”

“A small shovel?”, Amy asked.

“For you know, necessary things.”

“Necessary things?”

“Bathroom things.”

“Oh.”

Ajie and I took the blankets, the rifle, the shovel, and our canteens and loaded them into the car. Then drove out to the remote hogan. I’ve never driven out here in the dark, and tonight it was very dark. We parked the car, took all the blankets that my aunt had given us, into the hogan along with the rifle.

We used the flashlight to look around. The first thing we noticed was that there was a fire laid in the fire pit in the middle of the hogan. Then we saw some straw against the back wall that was about six inches thick and arraigned like a bed. And then there was the sand painting on the floor near the fire pit. I looked at Ajie, she looked at me, and together we said, “Naainish.”

I lit the fire, and we laid a couple of the blankets on the straw. Then I loaded the rifle, just in case.

Ajie looked at the sand painting, and asked, “I wonder what it represents?”

“I don’t know.”, I said. “We’ll have to ask Naainish.”

Ajie and I then spread out another blanket, so the sand painting was between it and the fire. And then we got the shovel out of the car, and took it, the flashlight, the rifle, out into the woods. We used the shovel to dig catholes to do our evening business.

When we were back in the hogan, I put a couple of logs on the fire. Then Ajie and I sat side by side on the blanket by the sand painting, wrapped a blanket around us, and looked into the flames of the fire. A chant came into my mind, and I started to chant quietly. Ajie quickly joined me in the chant. Naainish was right, the spirits were strong, and I felt that I wouldn’t have any trouble with them.

After we finished the chant, we sat there in silence just looking into the fire. Every once in a while, one of us would add another log to the fire. I was feeling things. But, what? Was it the spirits here in the hogan? Was it the spirit of the full Moon? Or, was it …

I felt sleepy, closed my eyes, and had visions. Yes, more than one. I saw where my life was going to lead. I also saw what Ajie was supposed to do. And, I also saw that we were to do these things together.

I slept. But, was it sleep? When I awoke, the fire had burned down to hot coals. I shook the sleepiness off, looked at Ajie and she was waking up. I stoked the fire so that it warmed the hogan a little.

Then I looked at Ajie again, and asked, “Did you have a dream?”

“Uh huh.”, Ajie said. “But, I’d call it more of a vision than a dream. Did you have one?”

“Yeah. What was your vision?”

She smiled, and said, “I think that you are going to get your masters and be working as an instructor in electronics for the university. And a doctoral is also a possibility.”

“Sounds like the same one that I had. Except I saw that you also earned your masters.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“But, … ”

“But, what?”

“But, I feel something more from you then a masters degree, and I’ve felt it for a long time.”

“What’s that?”

“That you’ll be the one to earn their doctoral. Maybe even bypassing your masters.”

“Oh? Not you?”

“I feel it in you. There’s a possibility that I might. We’ll see what happens.”

I dug my watch out of my purse, looked at it, and said, “It’s almost one in the morning. Do you want to go back to the house or try and get some sleep here?”

At about seven in the morning, there was a knock on our bedroom door, and we heard Aunt Ruth say, “Kids, it’s seven. And, I have breakfast almost ready.”

I rolled over and said, “Thanks, Aunt Ruth. We’re getting up.”

As we sat down to one of Aunt Ruth’s wonderful breakfasts, she looked at me, and said, “Well?”

“I did promise Dr. Joe that he’d be the second to know after Amy, but he’ll have to settle for fourth place. If the spirits were right, I’m going to be at the university.”

My aunt smiled, and my uncle said, “So, the National Laboratory is going to lose out?”

“I don’t know about losing out, Uncle Paul.”, I replied. “The university does do research for them. Plus I won’t have to go through their background check.”

After finishing breakfast, we put our things in the car and headed for Albuquerque. It wasn’t long until Amy was curled up and asleep. She slept until I pulled into the apartment. Amy then ran upstairs and changed. I was still in my long skirt, blouse, and moccasins. When Amy came downstairs, I was surprised. She was also in a long skirt, and a fancy blouse, but instead of moccasins she was wearing sneakers.

I looked at her, smiled, and said, “Those clothes always look so good on you.”

“Thanks. They feel good too.”

I walked Amy to her class, and I said that we’d get lunch after her class. She said more than asked, “Going to see Dr. Joe. Aren’t you.”

“Yeah.”, I replied.

“I know the answer to this. You’re going to accept the universities offer. Aren’t you?”

I just smiled.

Amy went to her class, and I walked over to Dr. Joe’s office. I walked up to the door and knocked.

I heard Dr. Joe say, “Come.”

I opened the door and walked in. Dr. Joe looked up, and said, “Back from the resort already?”

“Yeah. But we got in a good soak in one of the pools and a night hike.”

“Anything else?”

“We spent some time sitting a vigil in the remote hogan.”

“Any words of wisdom from the spirits?”

“Kind of.”

“Care to tell?”

“Think that Dean Rutherford might be in?”

“Oh maybe. Why?”

“Let’s go see him.”

“Going to take the universities offer. Aren’t you?”

Like with Amy, I just smiled.

Dr. Joe asked, “So, you have time to meet with Dean Rutherford?”

“Sure.”, I replied.

Dr. Joe picked up his phone, dialed a number, and when the phone was answered, he said, “This is Dr. Oshie. Is Dean Rutherford in?” … “Good. Would he have a few minutes to see Kai Nez and me?” … “We’ll be right there.”

As Dr. Joe stood, he hung up the phone, and said, “Let’s go.”

With a grin, I asked, “In a hurry?”

“No. But, the Dean called this morning and asked if I knew anything.”

“Oh? So, he’s a little anxious.”

“Could be. Come on.”

Dr. Joe and I walked to Dean Rutherford’s office. As we walked into the reception area, the secretary looked up, and said, “Dr. Oshie, you and Miss Nez can go on back. Dean Rutherford is expecting you.”

“Thanks, Sara.”, Dr. Joe said.

Dr. Joe and I walked back to Dean Rutherford’s office, Dr. Joe knocked on the door, and we heard the Dean say, “Come in.”

Dr. Joe, being a gentleman, opened the door for me, and followed me into the office. The Dean stood up, and said, “Miss Nez, I hope you have good news for me.”

With a smile, I said, “Good news. Yes, sir. I might.”

“Please sit.”

The three of us sat. Then the Dean said, “Dr. Oshie told me that you went up to some resort.”

“Yes, sir.”, I replied. “It’s a thermal resort north of here. I needed to sit a vigil where I knew the spirits were strong.”

“Did these spirits help you?”

“Yes, sir. They showed me the path that I needed to follow.”

“Did that path lead you here.”

“Yes, sir. From the very first they showed me that the university would be the place for me and not the National Laboratory. I like the university setting. I enjoy teaching and doing research. And, it will give me time to help my people.”

“Your people. That would be the Navajo people?”

“Yes, sir.”, I said. “The Diné.”

“That’s right.”, the Dean said. “You are special to them. Aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir. I’m a two spirit person or as we say a Nádleeh.”

“I understand. So, you are formally accepting our offer.”

“Yes, sir. I am. But, I have one question.”

“And, that is?”

“My wife and I are currently living in a married student apartment. Can we stay there until at least the end of the academic year?”

“I still have a problem realizing that you’re a man and that you’re married. But, I don’t see why you couldn’t stay there. Your wife is still a student. Isn’t she?”

“Yes, sir. She’s working on her masters in nursing.”

“I’ll check on the housing and let you know.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The Dean had me fill out some paperwork. Then we shook hands, and he said, “Miss Nez, I’m happy that you have chosen to join us.”

“I’m glad that you offered me the opportunity.”, I said.

“Now, I understand that you have some knowledge of computers?”

“Yes, sir. It was my minor.”

“Good. We’re looking at offering a program in computer circuit design, and we were wondering if you might be interested in putting together an introductory course for the Spring quarter?”

It only took me a second to say, “I’d be happy to. As long as I don’t have a problem with the book for the class like I did for the courses that I’m teaching now.”

“Miss Nez.”, the Dean said. “We don’t want that either. So, you, with Dr. Oshie, will choose the book. And, then you can put the course together.”

“Sounds like an interesting project.”

“It is. And, this winter quarter we’d also like you to teach the second part of the two courses that you’re teaching this quarter. And then this coming spring, along with the new course, teach the third part of the Electronic Circuits and Systems course.”

“I was wondering about that. It seemed a waste of half the book since that’s where the class stopped this quarter.”

“Yes, one of those courses is two-quarters long, and the other is three. And there is another class overview for the second quarter of both courses and the third quarter of the one course, that should help you.”

“And, I’m free to rewrite the class overviews as I did for this quarter?”

“Most definitely, Miss Nez. It needs to be done. It’s about the last thing that’s left of Dr. Kilmer.”

“Whatever happened to him?”, I asked.

“The university has pressed charges against him, but they haven’t found him.”, Dean Rutherford said.

“I’m just afraid that he hurt many students with his crap.”

“So, are we. We’ve contacted everyone that was in Dr. Kilmer's classes and told them what we’ve found out. Some of them have contacted us, and they are starting to put together a class action lawsuit against him.”

“Is the university doing anything for them?”

“Not yet.”

“You might consider a free week-long seminar in the summer for those that might want it.”

“Hmm. Interesting thought, Miss Nez. Would you be willing to help put something like that together if we do it?”

“Yes, sir. I would.”

“Now, I’ve heard from Dr. Fontheim of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and he has another research project for us. But, there are two conditions.”