Monday I’d ordered the nine books that I wanted to look at for the new course in computer circuits. And, when we stopped to see Charlie, he and Jackie asked us to spend Thanksgiving day with them. And, we had to disappoint them when we told them that we’d promised to go to the gathering. We didn’t bring up them going, because we needed to talk with someone, Vickie, first.

While Amy was talking to Vickie, I found a mistake in one of the textbooks for one of my classes.

On Tuesday I ended up using the error to test my students. Could they find it or not? Some of them did, some of the didn’t. Could Dr. Joe find it? Yes, with a hint.

After dinner, we visited Charlie, and of course, Jackie was there. We talked about the gathering, and I felt some interest on their part. But, when I brought up to them staying at the resort, they said that they didn’t want to impose on my aunt and uncle any more than they already have.

When we were back at the apartment, I called my aunt. The first thing that I found out was that my aunt and uncle were leaving on the Friday after Thanksgiving for a vacation. And, we could stay at the house. Then I talked to her about Charlie and Jackie coming to the gathering and staying at the house. She told me that they were more than welcome to stay at the house. Then, she told me that Uncle Paul wanted to talk with Charlie about a summer job.

Now, all we had to do was figure out how to get Charlie and Jackie to the resort.

On Wednesday both Amy and I taught our classes. And later as we walked into the hospital to see Charlie, we spotted Jackie ahead of us. We caught up with her, and when we walked into Charlie’s room, he was all smiles. I looked at him, and asked, “Why so happy.”

“I’m getting out of this place tomorrow.”

“That’s great.”, Amy said. “You’ve made a fast recovery.”

A male voice behind us said, “Yes, one of fastest recoveries from this type of surgery that I’ve ever seen.”

We turned and looked to where the voice came from, and Amy said, “Hello, Dr. Charles. It nice to see you again.”

“It’s Miss Young. Isn’t it”, Dr. Charles asked.

“Yes, sir. Miss Young.”

“If you ladies would excuse use, I want to examine Mr. Hamilton to be sure he is ready to go home tomorrow.”

“Of course, Dr. Charles.”, Jackie said. Then looking at Charlie, she said, “Honey, we’re going to the cafeteria to get something to drink. We’ll be right back.”

“Okay.”, Charlie said. “Bring me back something?”

“Sure will.”

Jackie, Amy, and I left Charlie’s room and went to the cafeteria. After we had purchased our drinks, we found a table and sat. After a minute, Amy said, “I know it’s months off, but Jackie what are your and Charlie’s plans for this summer?”

“Well.”, Jackie said. “We would like to stay out here, but don’t know if we can. It would depend on finding jobs and a place to stay that we can afford. Why?”

Amy looked at me, smiled, and I said, “When I talked to my aunt the other night about the gathering, and staying at the house. She told me that my uncle was working on filling positions for next summer at the resort.”

“So soon?”

“I guess he fills them early to get the best people that he can.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Well, my aunt told me that my uncle has Charlie’s name on his list of people that he might want to hire.”

“Why?”

“He’s a good carpenter. Isn’t he?”

“Yes. A very good carpenter.”

“Plus he’s a good auto mechanic.”

“Yes. I’ve never known him not to be able to fix something.”

“And, my uncle knows this. So, why wouldn’t he want Charlie?”

“I guess he might.”

“He does. But, I want him to tell Charlie. My aunt and uncle want you to come up the weekend of the gathering. They’ll be going to the gathering and then on Friday they’re flying to California for a week. And, she told me that we could stay at the house that weekend.”

“When you say we, you mean the four of us. Don’t you?”

“Yes. I think that a stay at the resort will help Charlie’s recovery. I think that he’ll find that the thermal pools will help him heal. Plus you could go to the gathering with us.”

“But, it’s too cold to use the pools. Isn’t it?”

“No. That’s part of the fun. The run from the pools to the bathhouse in the cold air.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.”, Amy said. “But, we don’t want Charlie to know that Uncle Paul is going to ask him until we're at the resort. Think that we can we do that?”

Jackie thought for a minute, then said, “We should be able to. When I’m alone with him, I’ll tell him that I’ve thought more about going to the gathering with you, and I want to go. And, that you told me that you were going up on Wednesday and coming back on Friday to take your aunt and uncle to the airport.”

“But, we’re not taking them to the airport. And, we want you to stay all weekend.”

“We will. Charlie won’t know it until we don’t take your aunt and uncle to the airport, and say, what is it that you say, hágoónee' - (see you later) to them at the door to the house when they drive away.”

“You’re sneaky.”, Amy said.

With a smile, Jackie said, “You know it, sister.”

“So, will we be able to keep this from him?”

“I can. I’ll act as if we’re only going for two nights.”

“And, we’ll play along.”

We went back up to Charlie’s room, and he was laying on his bed. Jackie asked, “Well, what did the doctor say?”

“He said that I’m well enough to go home today, and he’s working on the paperwork right now. But, I’m to take it easy for the next week and come back and see him after the holiday. And, I can go back to class when I feel good enough.”, Charlie replied.

“Honey.”, Jackie said. “That’s wonderful.”

As I said, “I’ll run home and get the car.”, I turned and headed out the door.

Less than an hour later, we were making Charlie comfortable on the couch in Jackie and Charlie’s apartment. And I said, “Amy and I will run over to Nunzio's and grab a couple of pizzas.”

“Real food!”, Charlie said.

“Don’t forget my anchovies.”, Jackie added.

“We won’t.”, Amy said.

A little later we were sitting around eating pizza, and talking. And, yes Jackie had her stinky little fish. After we finished eating, Amy and I left Jackie and Charlie alone. And we took a walk around campus. When we were back at our apartment, I said, “You were very quiet on our walk?”

“Just thinking.”, Amy said.

“About what?”

“Today and something that happened a few years ago.”

“Oh?”

“When Dr. Charles said, ‘Yes, one of fastest recoveries from this type of surgery that I’ve ever seen.’ It got me thinking back to when we were out here in ‘65 when grandma had her heart attack.”

“What about it?”

“Remember when we got back home, saw what your aunt had given us, called her, and she told us grandma was coming home?”

“Yeah. So?”

“Remember your aunt telling you that it was with your help that your grandmother had made an amazing recovery.”

“Yeah. You’re right. She did say that.”

“Do you see any similarities?”

“Maybe. Charlie healed quickly. Just like grandma.”

“Think it was because you were there and you’re close to both of them?”

“Hmm. Maybe.”

“I think it was.”

“So, I helped Charlie heal.”

“You and the spirits.”

“Maybe. And, the thought of that still scares me.”

“I can understand that.”

That night as we cuddled together in bed, I said, “We need to go see Mrs. Cyl.”

“Mrs. Cyl.”, Amy asked. “Who’s that?”

“Remember the lady that we bought the Biil dresses from?”

“Oh. Her. Yes, I remember her. Why do we have to go to see her?

“Remember that Sicheii Uskilith said that our Eagle feathers would look good in a headdress?”

“Yes. That’s right Mrs. Cyl did have some interesting beaded headdresses.”

“I want to see if she can suggest something that could be ready by next Wednesday.”

“We’d better stop over there tomorrow. And, I’m working the afternoon shift in the ER.”

“Three to eleven?”

“Yes.”

“I’m done at eleven tomorrow morning, and we could run over before you go into the ER.”

Amy became amorous, and I was on the receiving end of a wonderful foot massage.

Thursday morning after a nice breakfast, I went to the university, taught my two classes, and went to my graduate level class. As my professor started the class, he looked at me, and said, “Miss Nez, I hear congratulations are in order.”

I gave him a puzzled look, and said, “Sir?”

“Aren’t you now a member of the faculty and a research fellow?”

The other members of the class looked at me. And, I said, “Yes, sir. I guess I am. But I’m just a part-time instructor.”

“Miss Nez, it doesn’t matter if it’s full or part-time. Welcome.”

“Thank you, sir.”

After class, the other members of the class cornered me and hit me with a lot of questions. I answered as many as I could, but finally, I had to tell them that I had an appointment and needed to run.

As I walked into the apartment, Amy asked, “Where were you?”

“My prof told the class that I was now a member of the faculty.”, I replied. “So, after class, I had to play twenty questions with everyone in the class.”

She just shook her head. Then Amy said, “I thought that we should take the feathers with us. So, I found something to put them in to protect them.”

“So, you’re ready to go?”, I asked.

“Yep. As long as we stop someplace for lunch afterward.”

“It will be my pleasure, my lady.”

A short time later we were pulling up in front of Mrs. Cyl’s shop. As we walked in, as she usually was, Mrs. Cyl was sitting at her loom working on some weaving. She looked up at us, started to say something, then smiled, and said, “Welcome back.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Cyl.”, I replied.

As she stood up and walked over to us, Mrs. Cyl said, “What can I help you with, Kai Nez?”

“First, it’s just Kai. And, we’re looking for matching headdresses that we can add something special too.”

“Something special?”

As Amy set the case with the Eagle feathers in it on the counter and opened it, she said, “Bald Eagle feathers. We have two tail feathers and two flight feathers.”

“That is something really special! Those are very nice, where did you get them?”

I gave Mrs. Cyl a shortened version of our history with our Eagle friends. When I finished, Mrs. Cyl just shook her head. Then she said, “I’ve never heard of anything like this before. I have heard that you’re supposed to be special, and it must be true.”

I just shrugged my shoulders.

“So, what do you have in mind?”, Mrs. Cyl asked.

I replied, “We’re going to the gathering in Taos next Thursday, and we had a meeting of some of our clan elders, and Sicheii Uskilith told us that we should wear the feathers in a headdress. And, we’re open to suggestions.”

“We’re going to that gathering too.

“Sicheii Uskilith. I know that name?”

“Could be.”, I said, “He’s the Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council.”

“Oh. You know him?”

“He’s a member of our clan, and we’ve met him a couple of times.”

“I see.

“I may have a matching pair of beaded headdresses that just might fit the bill. Let me go and find them.”

Mrs. Cyl disappeared into the back room of the shop and was quickly back. She set the matching headbands on the counter. They had a band that was about two-inch wide with a three inch round beaded medallion in the front. And the beading was done in a fancy pattern in the colors of the sacred mountains, black, white, turquoise, and yellow.

Amy and I looked at the headbands, and Amy said, “I like them. What about mounting the feathers?”

Mrs. Cyl looked at the feathers, then at the headband, and then she said, “I think if the white feather would hang down by your right ear with some fancy things where the feather and headband come together, that it would look good. And with the bigger feather, I would mount it in the back so that it was straight up.”

Amy looked at me, and said, “It’s your call, Kai.”

“No. It’s our call.”, I said.

“I like Mrs. Cyl’s idea.”

“So do I.”

I looked at Mrs. Cyl, and asked, “How long would it take to modify the headband with the two feathers?”

“I’m seeing my mother tomorrow, and she would be the best one to do this. And I’m betting it won’t take her long. I should have them for you on Monday.”

“That would be great.”

“Good. Now I want you both to put the headbands on so that I can mark where the feathers need to be mounted.”

Amy and I put on the headbands, and Mrs. Cyl adjusted them, then she marked where the feathers should go. As we took them off, she put a “K” on the inside of the band of the one that I was wearing and an “A” on the one that Amy was wearing.”

Then we handed her the case with the Eagle feathers in it, and we told her which ones were mine and which ones were Amy's. Then Mrs. Cyl said, “I would go with your hair straight, no braids, and some nice earrings.”

“We have some nice earrings.”, I said. “My grandfather was a silversmith and made some nice things. And we’ve managed to find a number of them.”

“Your grandfather?”

As I showed her the bracelet that I was wearing, I said, “Actually he was my great-great-grandfather. And this is one of his bracelets.”

She looked at it, and said, “Very nice work. I’d love to see some of his earrings.”

“We’ve only found two or three sets of his earrings, but I’ll bring them when we pick up the headbands on Monday.”

We said, hágoónee' - (see you later) to Mrs. Cyl and headed to lunch at guess where? Yes, our favorite drive-in.

As we ate, Amy said, “We need to see Mr. Yazzie and pick up those necklaces.”

“I’ll call him this afternoon and see if he’s going to be at the gathering.”, I replied.

When we were back at the apartment, and pulling into the driveway, we saw Jackie and Charlie walking down the sidewalk. Amy said, “I’ll wonder if they’ve been for a walk.”

“It looks like it.”, I replied.

After I pulled the car into the garage, Amy and I walked out of the garage door, and Jackie and Charlie were standing there. I asked, “Have a good walk?”

“Yep.”, Charlie said. “It feels good to be outside again.”

“I know what you mean.”

“Is the offer to go to the gathering and to stay a couple of nights at the resort still good?”

“Of course, thinking of going with us?”, I asked.

“Yeah.”, Charlie said. “Jackie said she’d been thinking about it, and since you’ll be bringing your aunt and uncle down to the airport on Friday, that we’d go up with you on Wednesday and come back with you on Friday. If that’s okay?”

“Sure is.”, I said as I caught Jackie’s wink.

“I’ll give my aunt a call this evening and let her know that you’re coming.”

“That’ll be great. Jackie tired me out, so I want to go and lie down. So we’ll see you later.”

“Don’t overdo it.”, Amy said.

“I won’t. But, Jackie might have different ideas.”

“You’re the one that wanted to walk as far as we did today.”, Jackie said.

I shook my head, and said, “We’ll see you guys later.” Charlie and Jackie headed for their apartment door. And, Amy and I went into the apartment through the garage.

As I closed the door to the apartment, Amy said, “It looks like the plan may work.”

“I think it will. I’ll call Aunt Ruth tonight and tell her what’s going on.”

As Amy was getting ready to go to the ER, I called Mr. Yazzie. And, he told me that he had the necklaces ready and that he was going to the gathering and he’d bring the necklaces with him.

After I ate dinner alone, I called Aunt Ruth and told her what had happened and what the plan was. She thought it was an excellent plan to get Charlie up to the resort, and would fill my Uncle Paul in on it. She also said that she’d have dinner for us on Wednesday.

Something happened that bothered me a little bit. What happened you ask? Nothing. Nothing out of the ordinary happened Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. It was just the usual things. School, the ER, housework, and so forth. Hmm.

Monday was a little more interesting as Amy and I were walking to the university, Jackie and Charlie joined us. Charlie was feeling good enough to go back to class, but not to his student assistant job.

After lunch, Amy and I both put on one of the pairs of earrings that my grandfather had made. I wore the pair that we’d found in the hidden compartment of the wooden box. These were the ones that were a dime-sized silver round with a fancy design on them. And, each of the rounds had three small gold feathers hanging from them. The feathers were handcrafted of gold.

Amy put on the silver earrings that grandma had given her when we were married. They complemented the Concho belt that grandma had also given Amy.

Then we headed over to Mrs. Cyl’s shop to pick up the headdresses. As we walked in, she was with two customers, she looked at us, and said, “Hello, Kai. Amy. I’ll be with you shortly.”

“No rush, Mrs. Cyl.”, I said.

We looked around, and as we were looking at long skirts, Amy asked, “Do you think I should take a long skirt and blouse along for Jackie?”

“To the resort?”, I asked.

“Yes. For her to wear to the gathering.”

“She might like that. It’s a shame that Charlie is taller than I am, or he could borrow Tom’s native things.”

“He’s close to your uncle’s size, so maybe ... ”

Just then Mrs. Cyl finished with her two customers and walked over to us. As she walked up, she said, “My mother was delighted to work on those two headbands for you. And she was surprised when I told her the story of the two Eagles. I think that you’ll like the headdresses, let me get them.”

Mrs. Cyl went to her backroom and came back out carrying the case that we’d brought the Eagle feathers in. Then she said, “Kai, let's go over to the big mirror and see how yours looks on you.”

Amy and I followed her over to the mirror, I faced the mirror, and Mrs. Cyl took one of the headdresses out of the case, placed it around my head, and fastened it. The larger flight feather stood straight up at the back. The white tail feather fell just in front of my right ear. Mrs. Cyl’s mother had added some colored leather strips to where the white feather met the headband, she had braided them around the base of the feather and allowed the long ends of the strips to hang down. The pieces of leather were the colors of the four sacred mountains, black, white, turquoise, and yellow. The colors also represent the cardinal directions, north, east, south, and west.

Mrs. Cyl asked, “Kai, what do you think?”

“Mrs. Cyl, it’s wonderful. Your mother is an artist.”

“She is.”, Amy added. “Her work is beautiful.”

“Let’s try yours, Amy.”, Mrs. Cyl said.

After Mrs. Cyl had placed Amy’s headpiece around her head, Amy stood next to me in front of the mirror. And we looked at our reflections. Our headdresses were identical. After looking at ourselves for a minute, Amy said, “These feathers add so much to the headbands and the way your mother mounted them is wonderful. I love the way she used the four sacred colors in the leather strips.”

“Thank you.”, Mrs. Cyl said. “I’ll tell her what you said. And, you know about the sacred colors?”

“Yes, we’ve learned so much since we’ve been out here.”

“You’re not from here? I’ve heard you both speak Navajo like natives.”

“No.”, Amy said. “We’re both from Ohio. And, my aunt, Kai’s mother, spent a lot of time teaching us the Navajo language.”

“But, Kai, you’re a Nádleeh. A two spirit person.”

“Yes.”, I said. “But, I knew nothing about that until the first time we came out here. It was when we bought the white Biil dress. My friend, Naainish, the medicine man, has spent a lot of time teaching me.”

“That’s another amazing thing that I’ve learned about you. All I can say is that I’m happy that I’ve met you two.”

“And, we’re happy that we’ve met you too, Mrs. Cyl.”

As we were paying her, Mrs. Cyl said, “You didn’t happen to bring the earrings did you?”

I smiled, and said, “Sure we’re wearing them.”

“Oh. Can I see them?”

“Of course.”, I said as I removed the pair I was wearing and handed them to her.

She took them and looked at them carefully. I told her that we thought that these were one of my grandfathers earliest works as his maker's mark was hand engraved on the piece. Mrs. Cyl thought that they were beautiful.

Then Amy took hers off and handed them to Mrs. Cyl. She gave these a good look, and asked, “You don’t happen to have a Concho belt that matches these. Do you?”

“Yes, I do.”, Amy replied. “Also made by Kai’s grandfather.”

“Good. I’d wear them to the gathering.”

“I was going to do that.”

“Good. Those earrings you both have, need to be seen.”, Mrs. Cyl said.

We said so long to Mrs. Cyl and headed to the apartment.

The rest of Monday was normal. Well as normal as it can be for us. Tuesday I was surprised when I stopped in the bookstore, and eight of the nine books that I’d requested were in, the ninth would be in after the holiday. Do I take them with me to the resort or not?