At the barbecue, we had some special guests that have never been here before, at least when we’d been here. They were the governors of the four corners states, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. They’d been here for a conference of the governors of the four corner states.

Later, when Ajie and I had meditated at the bonfire, I’d had a vision of the Indian maiden and the wolf. The wolf had been standing and showing his teeth. If what Naainish had told me was true, this meant trouble. But what?

Saturday morning, we’d run into the governor of New Mexico, and his bodyguard up on the cliff for the Sunrise. Along with the Sunrise, we’d had a visit from a wolf. Maybe it was the same wolf that we’d encountered in July. Of course, the wolf scared the guests, and the governor's bodyguard was ready to shoot the wolf until we put a stop to it.

We explained to the governor about my interactions with animals, especially the wolf, and the bears. I deliberately left the Eagles out of it.

Ajie was able to spend some time with Naainish talking with him about her textbook. And while Ajie did that, I’d worked on the adoption application. Then the hike we took, followed by a soak in the mud pool, was terrific.

At dinner, we'd learned that Governor Black, the governor of New Mexico, would be joining us for breakfast in the morning. He just had to try Aunt Ruth’s fry bread breakfast tacos.

Sunday’s breakfast had been interesting. I learned a few things about the governor, and I think he learned some things about us. When we were back in Albuquerque, Ajie had to work in the ER. So I’d worked on the project for my doctoral while she was gone.

Monday morning, I headed into the university to work on the project for Los Alamos. Ajie was going to be home all day, and besides doing some housework, she was going to work on her textbook.

I parked in the faculty lot and walked to the office. And Dr. Joe was already there when I walked in. As I locked the door, Dr. Joe looked at me and said, “Have a good weekend, Kai?”

“A very interesting weekend.”, I replied.

“So, tell.”

As I started digging everything that I needed out of the fireproof file cabinet, I told Dr. Joe about my uncle and the ‘57 Chevy. And we had a good laugh over it. Then as I spread everything out on the work table and started getting things ready to draw up the schematic, I said, “What happened at the barbecue was even better.”

“What happened?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Like I usually do, I was going to introduce the special guests. And when my uncle handed me the list of guests, and I read it, I almost choked.”

“Why?”

“Not only was the Chief of the Navajo Nation, as he usually is, there. The governors of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah were on it.”

“What were they doing there?”

“Something about a meeting of the governors of the states that meet at the Four Corners area.”

“So, you were rubbing shoulders with some big wigs?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“I guess.”, I replied. “But then Ajie and I went you to the cliff on Saturday morning, we ran into the governor of New Mexico. And he invited us to have breakfast with him. But I turned him down.”

“Why did you turn him down?”

“Why? For one excellent reason, my aunt was making frybread breakfast tacos. And I won’t pass those up for anything.”

“Kai, you’re crazy.”

“I guess I am. But there’s more.”

“More.”

“I had told the governor about the breakfast tacos, and he got himself invited to my aunt and uncle’s house for breakfast on Sunday morning. And guess what we had?”

“Frybread breakfast tacos.”

“Good guess.”, I said.

“So what happened?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Nothing. We just talked. But they did ask me about the wolf that had shown up on the cliff the morning that we’d met them up there.”

“Wolf?”

“We’ve had a wolf show up twice in the mornings while we’ve been up on the cliff, and he chose Saturday morning to show up again. And I knew that he meant us no harm.”

Dr. Joe shook his head and said, “You and animals.”

“Anyway, I told the governor about feeling the wolf’s spirit and knowing that he meant us no harm. And I had to explain the two spirit thing to him.”

“I bet you had him spinning.”

“Not really. He’d heard about two spirit people but had never met one. But when I told him that they wouldn’t have heard anything about me if I hadn’t felt good about them. And when Ajie told him that I wouldn’t have said anything unless I felt that I could trust him. And he couldn’t say anything.”

“A politician at a loss for words. That had to be funny.”

“It was. But all in all, he was a nice guy.” 

“Next thing you know, you’ll be meeting President Johnson.”

I glared at Dr. Joe, and said, “There is no way in hell that I ever want to meet him!”

“I’d forgotten how you feel about him.”

Without another word, I went to work on the schematic.

I’d been at it for about half an hour when I heard a key in the door. I looked at Dr. Joe, and he said, “The Dean?”

“I guess.”, I replied.

The door opened, and Dean Rutherford walked in, followed by four others. Two I knew, one was Dr. Fontheim, who is the liaison between the university and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the other was Dr. Höllmann, head of research for Los Alamos. The other two I didn’t know.

Dean Rutherford said, “Dr. Oshie. Miss. Nez. Would you please gather up everything on the Los Alamos project that you’re working on, put it in the metal briefcase, and give it to these gentlemen.”

“What’s going on?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Dr. Oshie, please do as I ask.”

Dr. Joe and I looked at each other, then Dr. Joe said, “Kai, do as the Dean asked.”

I walked over to where the metal briefcase was, picked it up, and walked over to the file cabinet. As I went to open the file cabinet, one of the two unknown men walked over to me and stood there. I looked at him and asked, “Can I help you!?”

“I need to watch you.”, the man said.

I frowned at him, all six feet three of him that towered over my five-foot-five, and I said, “I am not opening this file cabinet with you standing there. I don’t know who you are. I also don’t know what your security clearance is. There may be other secret things in here other than the things for Los Alamos.

“If you don’t back off, I will call the University Police and let them handle you.”

“I’m with security for the Los Alamos National Laboratory.”, the man said as he showed me his badge. “And I need to watch you.”

“Says you. You have no jurisdiction here. Now get out of my face, or I will call the University Police.”

“Richards.”, the other unknown man said. “Remember, we’ve been warned about her.”

Pointing at me, the first unknown man said, “This is her?”

“Yes.”

“She couldn’t have done those things. I have a teenage daughter that’s bigger than she is.”

“You were told what she did. Like when they tried to set her up to see if she would spy.”

The first unknown man, or Richards, backed away without another word.

I then opened the file cabinet and put everything from the file cabinet that belonged to the project into the briefcase.

Then I took everything off the work table that was part of the project and put that in the briefcase. The whole time one of the unknown men had been watching me from a distance. Then I closed and locked the briefcase, and went to hand it to Dr. Fontheim. One of the two unknown men intercepted it. And as he grabbed for the briefcase, I noticed a gun in a shoulder holster. But I didn’t let go of the briefcase, he tried to pull it away from me, but I hung on and said, “I want a receipt for this.”

“You don’t need one.” the man said as he tugged on the briefcase.

“Then you don’t get the briefcase.”, I said as I held onto it.

As he yanked on the briefcase again, the man said, “Miss, I don’t want to hurt you.”

I wouldn’t let go. I stared at him and said in a soft voice, “Who is going to hurt who?”

Then Dr. Höllmann said, “Hold on. Hold on. I’ll write up a receipt.”

Dr. Joe gave Dr. Höllmann a sheet of paper. And he quickly wrote up a receipt and handed it to Dean Rutherford. I asked, “Dean Rutherford, is that receipt good enough?”

The Dean looked at the receipt and said, “Yes, Miss Nez, this is fine.”

I let go of the briefcase but continued to glare at the man.

Dr. Fontheim then reached out his hand to me to shake hands. As I took his hand, I felt something in his palm. He grabbed my hand with both of his hands, and as we shook hands, he said, “I’m sorry about this, Miss Nez.”

When we let go, I had something in my hand.

I watched as the four men from Los Alamos walked out of the office with the briefcase, and I asked, “What the hell just happened?”

“Miss Nez.”, the Dean said. “I wish I knew. A short time ago, the four of them showed up in my office and told me that the project was over, and they wanted everything that we had. So I brought them up here. I’ve never had anything like this happen before.

“And, Miss Nez, it appears that your reputation proceeds you.”

“I’m glad it does. I don’t ever want to see anything like this again.”, I said. “And at least one of those guys was armed.”

“A gun?”, Dean Rutherford said.

“Yes. The guy that I was playing tug of war with.”

“And, Miss Nez, what other secret stuff do we have in the file cabinet?”

“My lunch.”, I replied.

Dr. Joe said, “Your lunch!?”

“It’s always a secret.”

“How can you kid around at times like this.”

“You know that it’s how I handle things like this.”

“I guess I do.”

Shaking his head as he was leaving our office, the Dean said, “I need to make a phone call.”

As the door closed, I looked at what Dr. Fontheim had slipped into my hand. Dr. Joe saw it and said, “What’s that?”

“Dr. Fontheim slipped it into my hand when we shook hands.”, I replied.

I unfolded the piece of paper, and it said, I’ll be at this number for five minutes starting at 8:00 this evening. Call me from a payphone. And there was a phone number written on the paper.

I showed it to Dr. Joe, and after he read it, he said, “What is going on?”

“I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything.”, I said.

“Just be careful!”

“I will. Let me know if you hear anything.”

“Will do.”

“I’m just going to go home.”

“I don’t blame you. Be careful.”

My mind was working on being careful as I drove home. Right now, I didn’t trust anyone. I went home the back way with a few extra turns. I just did this to see if I was being followed. But, it appeared that I wasn’t. I drove up our cul-de-sac road and then back out, and no strange cars. So I went back up our road, up the driveway, and into the garage.

As I walked into the house, Ajie greeted me with a, “What are you doing home?”

I looked at her with a little smile and said, “I love you too.”

She walked over to me, took my face in her hands, and kissed me. Then she said, “I do love you. But what are you doing home?”

“Do we have any sangria?”

“No, but I’ll make some.”

“You do the sangria, and I’m going to change.”

After I’d changed, I went back to the kitchen and watched as Ajie finished up the sangria. She then poured each of us a glass, and I carried them out to the courtyard. We sat on one of the couches, I took a big swig of sangria, and then told her what had happened.

Ajie looked at me for a couple of seconds, and then asked, “Why did they do that?”

“We have no clue.”, I said. Then as I handed her the note that Dr. Fontheim had slipped me, I added, “Except this.”

She unfolded the paper, read it, and said, “That doesn’t say much.”

“It does, and it doesn’t.”, I said. “It tells me that Dr. Fontheim wants to talk.”

“I guess. Are you going to do it?”

“Of course.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“No.”

“Try and stop me.”, Ajie said.

“Where are my handcuffs?”, I replied.

“You don’t have any.”

“Note to self. Buy a pair of handcuffs.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

I just looked at Ajie and grinned.

We sat and cuddled on the couch for a little while, then Ajie said, “There’s a payphone in the grocery store parking lot.”

“I know, but I want to be a little further from the house.”, I replied. “Like maybe the payphone at the drug store near the old apartment.”

“Okay.”

“And I’m thinking of taking the ‘57 Chevy.”

“Why?”

“I don’t trust these people, and I want to have a fast set of wheels with me.”

“I understand.”

I finished my sangria, and to pass the time until dinner, I figured that I’d work on my doctoral project. But before I got up, I asked Ajie, “How’s the textbook coming?”

“Good. Vickie read the first two chapters and told me that if the rest of the textbook is as good as the first two chapters that it would work well for my doctoral.”

“Great! Are you going to have done in time for winter quarter?”

“I think so. If I can keep at it as I have, I should have it done well before the winter quarter starts.”

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

“You’re sweet. And I will.”

Ajie went back to work on her textbook, and I went to work on my project. But as I did, my mind got to thinking about something else. And that was that we live at the end of a cul-de-sac road, we can’t see our neighbor’s houses, and they can’t see ours, and we have a long winding drive. Also, we never lock the gate in the front courtyard wall, so we never know if someone is coming until they ring the doorbell. Hmm.

Some kind of switch or an electric eye at the front courtyard gate would work. We could bury a cable from the front gate into the garage and then run it to some kind of chime may be in the kitchen and maybe even the master bedroom.

For the driveway, we could put some kind of detector in the trees that the drive comes through. Here again, an electric eye or maybe an inductive loop detector buried in the driveway. Then bury the cable from there to the front gate and tie that cable into the gates cable. The ground is almost all sand, so burying a cable shouldn’t be a problem. And I remember seeing buriable multi-conductor cable at the hardware store and I know where to get the other things.

Maybe start with something for the gate and do the drive later. Am I being paranoid? Probably.

I put those ideas in the back of my mind and did work on my project. We had dinner at about six. And then we got ready to go. Yes, Ajie was going.

I also took one of the .45 pistols out of the safe and loaded it. I hoped that I wouldn’t need it.

I made sure I had the piece of paper and some change. Ajie helped me take the cover off of the ‘57 Chevy, I put the .45 in the glove box, and we headed towards the university. We pulled up in front of the drugstore that was close to our old apartment, and just before eight o’clock, I got out of the car and walked over to the outdoor payphone. Ajie stayed in the car.

Right at eight o’clock, I dropped a dime in the payphone, heard a dial tone, and I dialed the number that was on the paper. The phone rang three times before it was answered. I first heard a lot of background noise, like maybe a bar or club, then I heard a familiar voice say, “Hello.”

I said, “Dr. Fontheim?”

“Yes. Is this Kai?”

“Yes.”

“Are you alone?”

“Yes. Can you answer a question for me?”

“Of course.”

“What’s was my real first name?”

Without hesitation, I heard, “Tom.”

“Sorry, just being careful.”

“That’s fine, Kai.”

“Dr. Fontheim, what the hell is going on.”, I asked.

“It may not be as bad as it seems, Kai.”, Dr. Fontheim said. “The people that you were researching for were checking on who was doing the research. They were okay with the university doing it, but then they learned who at the university was doing it.”

“What do you mean, Dr. Fontheim?”

“They learned that you and Dr. Oshie are American Indians.”

“And they have a problem with that?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure, but it appears that they have a problem with it.”

“Bigots?”, I asked.

“It appears that way.”, Dr. Fontheim replied.

“That’s a bad thing and a problem to me.”

“I figured that it would be.”

“Why the two goons?”

“They required them so that you wouldn’t damage anything.”

“Oh, come on!”

“Kai, we know that you wouldn't do anything like that. But we had no choice.”

“I’m not blaming you or Dr. Höllmann.”

“And, Kai, they wanted the two security officers because of you.”

“Me?”

“Because of what they know about you.”

“They know about me?”

“Yes. You and everything that’s transpired between you and Los Alamos. Plus, your martial arts training.”

“Who are these people.”

“Kai, you know I can’t tell you that.”, Dr. Fontheim said.

“Well, I guess it’s their loss.”, I said.

“Kai, it is. It is their loss. You and Dr. Oshie have always gone above and beyond what’s been asked of you.”

“Has this hurt the relationship between the university and Los Alamos?”

“I hope not. Dr. Höllmann and I were placed in a bad position. We knew that you and Dr. Oshie would have done a good job on the project. But we also know that the leadership of the university is very unhappy with what happened and how they did it.”

It was quiet for a minute. Then Dr. Fontheim said, “Are you still their, Kai?”

“Sorry.”, I said. “I was just thinking.”

“About how you feel about this mess?”

“Yes. There have been so many things that have happened that I don’t know if I ever want to do anything for Los Alamos again.”

“Kai, I for one don’t want to lose you. So please don’t make a rash decision.”

“I won’t.”

“Kai, we haven’t had this conversation.”, Dr. Fontheim said.

“I understand.”, I said. “I figured that you were told not to talk to me.”

“Both Dr. Höllmann and I were told not to talk to you or anyone. But I like you and Dr. Oshie, you are good researchers and good people. And I couldn’t let it end the way it was ending.”

“I understand. And I appreciate it that you’re talking to me. Do you mind if I tell Dr. Oshie?”

“No, but no further. Not even to Dean Rutherford.”

“I understand. And Dr. Fontheim, I’m not going to say goodbye. It’s too permanent. Ajie and I always say, hágoónee'. Which is Navajo and means see you later. So, hágoónee', Dr. Fontheim.”

“Then I’ll say, see you later, Kai.”

And we both hung up.

I stood there for a moment, then I walked over to the car and got in. I looked at Ajie and said, “Strange.”

“Strange?”, Ajie asked.

“Yes, whoever we were doing this research project for is bigoted towards American Indians.”

“You are kidding me!?”

“No, and what I tell you and what you overhear when I talk with Dr. Joe goes absolutely no further.”

“You know it won’t. But they pulled the project that way because of the bigotry?”

“That’s what I was told.”

“Do you want to stop at Dr. Joe’s house and tell him.”

“That would be good.”

I was still a little paranoid over this whole thing, so I took a roundabout way to Dr. Joe’s house. As he opened the door, Dr. Joe said, “You made the phone call. Didn’t you?”

“You know I did.”, I replied.

“Come on in and tell me.”

Ajie and I walked into the house, and Mary was there. She looked at us and said, “I love seeing you two, but not under the circumstances like this.”

“We agree.”, Ajie said. “This wasn’t good.”

We sat down, and I started out saying, “What I’m going to tell you goes no further, not even to Dean Rutherford. And the phone call I made never happened. Everyone okay with that?”

The three of them all agreed. I then went on to explain what Dr. Fontheim had told me. And as I was finishing, I said, “Right now, I may be finished doing any research for Los Alamos or any other government agency. I’ve just about had it.

“And if this in any way interferes with us adopting it means war.”

Ajie looked at me and asked, “How could that happen?”

“Honey, you never know. Things happen.”

“I don’t like hearing that.”

“So, whoever we were researching for has a problem with Indians?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Yes.”, I replied.

“Did you get any clues who it might be from the documentation?”

“No, there was nothing there that jumped out at me.”

“Me either. But, it sounds like the powers at Los Alamos aren’t happy with what happened.”

“I don’t think that they are.”, I said. “What are we going to do?”

“I think we need to wait and see what the Dean comes up with. And I know that he was not happy!”

“I need a milkshake.”

“The little one’s sleeping, or we’d go with you.”, Dr. Joe said.

“I almost forgot about him.”, I said. “Maybe I’ll pass too.”

“Do you think that this was what your vision was warning you about?”, Ajie asked.

“I don’t know.”, I replied. “I guess I’ll have to wait and see if I have another one.”

“Vision?”, Dr. Joe said.

“I have a vision every once in a while. It's of an Indian maiden sitting under a tree, and there’s a wolf with her. Usually, he’s next to her with his head in her lap. Naainish has told me that this means everything is fine. Lately, the wolf has been standing and showing his teeth, and that’s not good. It means that there is trouble.”

“Let’s hope that he has his head back in her lap.”

“I’ll agree with you on that.”

Ajie and I said hágoónee' - (see you later) to Dr. Joe and Mary and headed home. When we were back, I put the .45 pistol away, and we went inside. Without a word, Ajie took the remainder of the sangria out of the refrigerator and filled two glasses. We went out into the back courtyard. I laid and lit a fire in the fire pit, and we cuddled together, sipping sangria and watching the stars.

When bedtime finally came, I said, “Let’s sleep in the hogan tonight.”

“I’d like that.”, Ajie replied.

“Good. You get ready for bed, and I’ll go and set up the hogan.”

As Ajie went to get ready for bed, I went into the hogan. I lit a few of the lanterns, including the ones on the two bedside tables. Then I laid a fire that would probably burn for an hour or so. I then went back into the house to get ready for bed. As I walked into the house, Ajie was headed towards the hogan, she gave me a sly smile and said, “Don’t be long.”

I smiled at her and said, “I won’t be.”

I walked through the house, making sure everything was turned off and locked up. Then I got ready for bed and headed for the hogan. And I made sure I had the keys.

As I walked into the hogan, I looked at Ajie’s naked body lying on the bed. There was something about seeing her this way in the light from the fire and lanterns. I closed and locked the door. Lit the fire in the fire pit, then I extinguished all the lanterns hanging from the ceiling. I walked over next to the bed and let my robe drop to the floor. And I then joined Ajie on the bed, and …

Something startled me awake. I didn’t have a clock to look at, but it was dark outside the only light was from the Moonlight coming in through the smoke hole and the one lantern on the bedside table that I’d turned way down, so there wasn’t much light. Why was I startled awake? I’d had the vision again — the vision of the Indian maiden and the wolf. And the wolf had been standing and showing his teeth.

Trying not to wake up Ajie, I worked my way out of bed, found my robe, put it on, and quietly opened the door to the hogan. I walked through the door, carefully closed it, and went into the back courtyard. I sat on the small couch and stared at the Moon. There was enough light for me to see my watch, and it was a little after two.

It wasn’t much later that I heard the gate in the back wall open, I looked, and it was Ajie minus her robe. I smiled and said, “I’m sorry I woke you up. But you forgot something.”

“What?”, Ajie asked.

“Your robe.”

She looked down at herself, shrugged her shoulders, and said, “Oh well. We’re the only ones here. Aren’t we?”

“I hope so.”

She walked over to where I was sitting, sat, and cuddled up to me. Then she asked, “You had the vision again. Didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”, I said.

“And the wolf was standing showing his teeth?”

“Yeah. That too.”

“And you have no idea of anything going on?”

“Not a thing. Unless there’s something more with this thing with Los Alamos.”

Ajie yawned, and as I got up, I said, “Come on, sleepyhead. let’s go back to bed.”

I offered her my hand and said, “Come on.”

She took my hand, and I helped her stand, then I led her back to the hogan. We crawled back into bed, cuddled together, and fell asleep.

When I woke up, Ajie was cuddled up tightly to me, and I could tell it was late. There was a lot of light coming in through the smoke hole. So the sun was up. I was able to see my watch, and it was a little after nine.

Ajie stirred and asked, “What time is it?”

“A little after nine.”

“Oh, okay. … Nine!?”

“Yeah, nine.”

“Aren’t you going into the university?”

“For what. There’s no project, and I’m not sure if I ever want to do anything for Los Alamos again.”

“Yeah. But you're a Research Associate.”, Ajie said.

“I know.”, I said. “But there aren't many students on campus doing research right now. I guess I could work on my doctoral project.”

“You don’t sound too enthusiastic about that either.”

“Right now, I’m not.”

“That’s okay. You had a major shock yesterday.”

“No, kidding.”

“I think that what they did in stopping that project the way they did was completely wrong. And I wouldn’t blame you if you never did anything else for them.”

“Really?”, I said.

“Yes.”, Ajie replied.

“I have been thinking of doing a couple of things around here. So maybe I’ll work on those.”

“Like what?”

“You know how we can never tell when someone is coming until they ring the doorbell?”

“Yeah.”

“I was thinking of something at the gate in the courtyard wall that would alert us when it was opened and maybe something in the driveway that would let us know when someone drives in.”

“That would keep you busy for a while.”, Ajie said.

“It would.”, I replied.

After a nice brunch, I drove to the hardware store and looked around. I did find the buriable low voltage multi-conductor cable that I needed. I also found a doorbell chime, actually two of them. And some of the other things that I’d need. But what to use at the gate. I found a switch that would work, but then I found an infrared electric eye. They could be painted to match the brown of the adobe. But could an electric eye also be used for the driveway? Hmm.

And it would be easy to run a conduit through the adobe wall between the front courtyard and the garage. But most of the cable would just be buried in the ground.

When I was back home and had the car unloaded, I went out to the front courtyard and carefully looked it over. And it wasn’t long until I had a plan in my mind. Then when I walked into the house, Ajie said, “Dr. Joe called, and he wants you to call him at the university right away.”

“Did he say why?”, I asked.

“No. Just to call him.”

I walked over to the wall phone in the kitchen, dialed the university's main number, and asked the operator for the office extension. The phone rang a couple of times, and I heard, “Dr. Oshie.”

“Hi, Dr. Joe, it’s Kai.”, I said.

“It’s about time, Miss Nez.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Oh, getting formal on me.”

“You’re not here to harass, so I have to do something.”

“What’s up.”

“The Dean wants to see us.”

“When?”

“At three.”, Dr. Joe said.

“What’s he want?”, I asked.

“He didn’t say.”

“Any word on the problem with Los Alamos?”

“Not a word.”

“I’ll bet that’s what the meeting is about.”

“Could be.”

“Okay. I’ll see you at three. But it’s going to cost you.”

“Cost me? Cost me what?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“I have a project that I can use some help on.”, I replied.

“What kind of project.”

“I’ll tell you when I see you at three. Hágoónee' - (see you later), Dr. Joe.” And I hung up.

“So, you’re going into the university at three?”, Ajie asked.

“Yeah.”, I replied. “The Dean wants to see Dr. Joe and me.”

“Maybe I’ll go with you if Vickie’s in. I’ve got a few more chapters done.”

“Not going to let me read them?”

“Of course, I am going to let you read them. Tonight.”

“Good. After we’re done, we can stop someplace for dinner.”

As you probably know, when I go to a meeting, it’s dressed to kill. And, maybe with this meeting, I may also need some war paint. We’ll see.

When we left for the university, I was dressed in a long deep purple velvet skirt, a fancy blouse, and the usual wrap moccasins. I had my hair in a single braid without anything fancy except the braided leather headband with the eagle feather. I wore the silver and gold earrings that my grandfather had made, and the choker that my two grandfathers had made. There was the also thr required Concho belt. Three rings, including the one that Mr. Yazzie had made. And a bracelet on each wrist.

At about two-thirty, we were pulling into the faculty lot. Ajie headed for the school of nursing, and I headed for the engineering building. Being summer, there weren’t many people on campus, but there were a few, and they weren’t used to seeing anyone dressed I was, so I was looked at. I saw a few confused looks, but mostly smiles.

As I walked into the office, Dr. Joe looked up and said, “Miss Nez, as you usually do for these meetings, you look great.”

I smiled and said, “Thank you, Dr. Oshie. We’ll have to dress you in your Ojibwa regalia one of these days.”

“That would be interesting.”

“Yes, it would.”

I told Dr. Joe about the project that I was thinking about, and he liked the idea. And he agreed to help.

At a little before three, Dr. Joe and I walked into the Dean’s office. Sara looked up, smiled, and said, “Kai, I’ve never seen you look sharper.”

I smiled and said, “Why thank you, Miss Edwards.”

“Go on back. they’re in the conference room and are expecting you.”

I looked at Dr. Joe and said, “They?”

“I guess we’ll find out.”, Dr. Joe replied.

We walked back to the conference, and Dr. Joe knocked on the door. And we heard a, “Come.”

Dr. Joe opened the door and held it for me. As we walked in, everyone stood. This is the second time they’ve done this. Why?

I looked at the five men in suits that were in the room. Of course, Dean Rutherford was there. As were Dr. Millman, Assistant Director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Dr. Höllmann, head of research for Los Alamos, and Dr. Fontheim, liaison between the university and the Laboratory. And there was another man I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.

Dean Rutherford then said, “Miss Nez and Dr. Oshie, I know that you know most of the people who are here from Los Alamos. But, I don’t think you know Dr. Gerling. Dr. Gerling is another assistant director. He’s the Assistant Director of Special Projects. Dr. Gerling, this is Miss Kai Nez and Dr. Joe Oshie.”

We exchanged pleasantries. I had seen this man before. But where? Then I remembered, and I said, “Dr. Gerling, we’ve met before.”

“Where was that, young lady.”, Dr. Gerling asked.

“It was last October, and we were at the Ojo Caliente resort.”

“Yes, I do remember meeting you. You have a good memory.”

“I do.” Then looking at Dean Rutherford, I asked, “Dean, what are we doing here?”

“And you’re also to the point.”, Dr. Gerling said.

“I can be, sir.”

“We wanted to apologize to you.”

“Sir, I don’t know if I’m ready to accept another apology from you now or ever. I’ve been hurt too many times. And this last time your security people thought that they could manhandle me. And they came very close to finding out how I handle people like them. I’m still upset about this whole thing.”

Dr. Millman looked at Dr. Gerling and said, “I told you that she was upset.”

“That she is.”, Dean Rutherford said. “As are all of us here at the university. Miss Nez and Dr. Oshie are excellent researchers, and to be treated the way they have been treated is wrong. President Lingham also isn’t happy with your people coming on campus unannounced and said that it better not happen again.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Dean Rutherford said, “Yes.”

The door opened, and Dr. Lingham, the President of the University, walked in. He looked at me and said, “Miss Nez, it’s good to see you again.”

“And, you too sir.”, I replied.

Dean Rutherford then introduced everyone. President Lingham then told everyone how the university felt about what happened. And like Dean Rutherford had said, the President also told them that coming onto campus unannounced the way they did would not be tolerated again.

Dr. Gerling then said, “Dr. Lingham, the board of directors of Los Alamos sent us and me, in particular, to try and smooth things over with you and your staff. We came up as quickly as we could so that we could put a stop to any more hard feelings between your staff and us.”

“If I know Miss Nez, she has already told you her feelings.”

“Yes, she has.”

“Miss Nez, any comments.”

“Yes, sir.”, I said. “This only happened yesterday, and it has left a bad taste in my mouth for Los Alamos. Not the people, other than their security people, but for the tactics that they use.

“The native people have always been poorly treated by the government, and if it’s going to continue with us, Dr. Oshie and me, I am done! I will not accept being treated this way any longer. I haven’t decided if I will ever do any more work for you or not. Did I make a mistake in accepting your apology last time? Maybe I did.

“Doctors Millman, Höllmann, and Fontheim, this is not your fault. This whole thing is the fault of your upper management and whoever their bosses are. You made a change when I had that run-in with your security people when they tried to see if I’d spy for someone. It appears that other things need to change.

“It’s only been a day since this last fiasco of yours. I need more time.

“And I don’t like people with guns in my office.”

With that, I got up and walked out of the meeting.

As I reached Sara’s desk, she asked, “Kai, what the heck is going on. President Lingham stormed through here without a word.”

“Sara.”, I said. “Right now, it’s better that you don’t know.”

I walked out of the Dean’s office and back towards my office. But I didn’t make it. Dr. Joe caught up with just before I reached the office door, and he said, “Kai, you need to come back to the meeting.”

“Why?”, I asked.

“President Lingham would like you to. And so would I. It’s not only important to the university, but to you.”

“Me?”

“Kai, realize that not only the Dean but President Lingham hold your academic life in their hands. Yes, you’re a wonderful researcher, and more importantly, you are an amazing instructor. And I think that you love doing both. I don’t want you to lose this. You mean too much to me, as a friend and a researcher. Plus, I’ve learned a lot from you.”

I looked at Dr. Joe for a few seconds, and then said, “You … you have learned from me?”

“Kai, your knowledge of electronics is amazing, and you know how to share it.”

I thought for a couple of seconds, then said, “Come on, what are you waiting for.”

“What am I waiting for.”, Dr. Joe said. “I’m waiting for you.”

As I headed back to the Dean’s office, “Well, come on then.”

“Kai, you’ll never grow up.”

“Why should I. It’s no fun being an old fuddy-duddy.”

Dr. Joe and I headed back to the Dean’s office. As we walked passed Sara’s desk, I said, “I’m back.”

“So, I see, Kai.”, Sara replied.

We walked back to the conference room. Dr. Joe was going to knock, but I just grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. Then we walked into the room, and I said, “Did you want to see me, President Lingham?”

“Miss Nez, please sit down.”, President Lingham said.

As I said, “Yes, sir.” I sat. And, Dr. Joe sat next to me.

“Miss Nez, I’ve seen you defend yourself before, and this is just a continuation of that. You’ve been wronged, and you respond to it with words and, in some cases, actions. And I applaud you for your tenacity.

“I also applaud the people from Los Alamos for coming here and admitting that there is a problem.

“I hope that we can keep the relationship between the university and Los Alamos at the same level that we have the past few years. Miss Nez, you found and helped correct a problem that was in the process of causing more problems. I’m hoping that we can come to an agreement that will satisfy everyone.”

“Thank you, President Lingham.”, Dr. Gerling said. “I hope we can too. I can’t tell you the reasons behind what was done. But I’ll admit that it wasn’t done correctly. We should have notified the Dean and then made an appointment to pick things up. But the people who you were doing the research for pushed the envelope causing hard feelings.”

“Gentlemen.”, I said. “Realize what I, we, have been put through. It has soured me on doing research. Will that love of research come back? Yes. I love it too much to let something like this kill it. But don’t expect me to jump right back into it. I need to go to the mountains and find myself. I need to bring my spirit back where it belongs.

“How long will this take? It could take a day or two, or it could take a week or a month. But it will happen. I just need time to heal. To heal the wounds that have hurt my heart.

“The only thing that I ask of you is to give me the time I need.”

“Miss Nez.”, Dr. Gerling said. “I’m beginning to understand you and your feelings. And I, for one, will be happy to give you all the time you need.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“So will I, Miss Nez.”, President Lingham agreed.

“And thank you, sir.”

Then I said, “One last thing Dr. Gerling. Put a leash on those security people of yours. They have no jurisdiction here. And I can only be pushed so far.”

“Again I’ll apologize for their actions, and I’ll do my best to see that nothing like that happens again.”, Dr. Gerling said.

As I nodded yes, I was thinking, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’

“Miss Nez.”, President Lingham asked. “Did you say that the people from Los Alamos were carrying guns?”

“Yes, sir, the two people from security.”

President Lingham looked at Dr. Gerling and said, “Dr. Gerling. I know that it’s legal for your people to be armed. But, I’m requesting that it never happens again.”

“If I have anything to say about it. It won’t.”, Dr. Gerling said.

“Dr. Gerling.”, I said. “I hope it doesn’t.”

Dr. Fontheim then said, “Miss Nez. Dr. Oshie. When you are ready, let me know, and I’ll have something for you.”

I looked at Dr. Fontheim, smiled, and said, “I know you will, Dr. Fontheim. And I’ll bet that it will be challenging.”

Then looking at Dr. Gerling, I said, “And I’d still like to know who it was that pulled this rug out from under us on this last project.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Nez.”, Dr. Gerling said. “But we can’t tell you that.”

I didn’t say any more. But as the meeting broke up, I did shake hands with the contingent from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. And I had an extra smile for Dr. Fontheim.

As the Los Alamos people left the room, President Lingham said, “Dean Rutherford. Dr. Oshie. Miss Nez. A minute of your time.”

Dr. Joe and I said, “Yes, Sir.” at the same time. Then as the door to the room closed, President Lingham said, “Miss Nez, you had me worried for a minute. I’ve seen you in action before, but when you walked out of here a little while ago, I thought it was all over. But when Dr. Oshie went after you, I knew that there was a chance.

“I wanted to thank you for coming back.”

“Dr. Lingham.”, I said. “I needed out of the room to clear my head. And as I said, I love doing research. And I love doing it here. I just have a problem with the way Los Alamos does things.

“Yes, they’re the big kid on the block. But, this kid doesn’t like the way she’s being treated. And that goes for the way they’re also treating Dr. Oshie and even the university. It has to stop. And I’ll go out of my way to put a stop to it.”

“I think that you might have gotten them to see that, Miss Nez. And the university will stand behind you.”

“Thank you, sir. I appreciate that.”

As Dr. Joe and I walked back to our office, he asked, “So, what are you going to do?”

“I think a nice day hike in the mountains north of the resort might be good.”, I replied.

“You like ding that , don’t you?”

“It’s a place that I can relax and regenerate my spirit. I need to go into the mountains and find myself. I need to bring my spirit back to where it belongs. I need to find hózhó. I need to restore and find balance in my life. And that can be hard having a man’s body and the spirit, the strong spirit, of a woman.”

“Kai, I know that about you, but it’s so hard to visualize you and try to remember that you’re a guy.”

I just grinned.

When we were back at the office, I called Ajie and told her about the meeting and what I wanted to do. She readily agreed that a day hike in the mountains would be fun. Then I said, “We might as well stay till Saturday.”

“We could so that.”, Ajie said.

“Will it hurt the time you need for your textbook?”

“No, I’m ahead of where I think I should be and could use a break.”

“I know what you mean. Be sure to bring along the application, and we can finish it.”

“I’d like to do that.”

As I was leaving the office, I told Dr. Joe that we’d be gone until at least Saturday. And he said, “Kai, you take as long as you need. And I’ll be here when you get back.”

“I know you will, Dr. Joe.”, I replied.

On the way back to the house, I stopped at the outdoor store where we’ve purchased most of our hiking gear and picked up some good backpacking snacks as well as something for lunch while we hiked. I also picked up two more canteens.

When I was back at the house, Ajie had everything packed. I called my aunt and told her that we were coming up and doing a day hike tomorrow and staying until Saturday. She knew something had happened, but didn’t ask. I figured that I’d tell her when we got there.