Then on Friday, our people from the Los Alamos National Laboratory showed up with a new project. But they had something, actually someone, better with them. They had brought Dr. Clark from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration with them, and he brought some good and exciting news with him. Not to mention the briefcase full of goodies that he brought.

Dr. Clark had come to give me permission to use the module that I’d designed and built for them for my doctoral dissertation. And the briefcase, along with all the paperwork on the original project, contained my original breadboard circuit of the project, the original printed circuit that I’d designed and built. And the pièce de résistance was one of the full guidance systems for the Apollo spacecraft that our module was a part of.

Maybe there was hope for my doctoral.

Dean Rutherford and I started putting together a plan for a launch viewing for my classes and anyone else that wanted to come.

Ajie and I decided to do a hike to the summit of Tsoodzil or Mount Taylor on Sunday. So Saturday we went to the outdoor shop that we use and got some excellent information. Then later, we had dinner at Chief Tom and Vickie’s house with our friends. Dr. Joe, his wife Mary, Charlie, and Jackie. And we discussed the past week.

When we were back home, we got everything together that we thought we’d need for the hike. We had all six water bottles on the counter, ready to be filled. We wrapped Ajie’s camera in the blanket and put that in the backpack along with the first aid kit, the topographical map, and some trail food, and the water bottles would join them in the morning. I pulled both sidearms and their holsters out of the safe. And only one of the long guns. I put them in the trunk of the car along with the ammunition for all of them. Also, our hiking staffs and hats went into the trunk.

On Sunday morning, we were out of bed well before Sunrise, which was just before seven. And after a quick breakfast, we filled the water bottles, put two of them inside the backpack, and four of them in the side pockets. Then we were on I-40 heading towards Grants, New Mexico, by five-thirty. I said we were up well before Sunrise.

At just about seven, we were pulling into Grants. Then we took Route 547 northeast out of Grants and started looking for Forest Service Road 193. We'd been told that this was a well-maintained dirt and gravel road, and it was. You couldn’t go fast on it, and you had to keep your eyes open as other Forest Service roads crossed it. And you could see Mount Taylor or Tsoodzil, which is an extinct stratovolcano off in the distance.

Ajie looked at the mountain off in the distance and said, “We’re going up there?”

“Yep.”, I replied. “At least we’re going to try.”

We wanted to arrive at the trailhead after the sun had been up for a while. And we managed to do that. There was a sign there that said, ‘Gooseberry Trailhead.’

And there was another car there with Arizona license plates. Also, another trail crossed through here. And that was the Continental Divide Trail. Yes, we were on the Continental Divide, and this trail runs three-thousand one-hundred miles from Canada to Mexico and goes through five states. The rain that falls west of the Divide flows into the Pacific Ocean, and the rain that falls east of the Divide flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

We parked the car and got everything out of the trunk. We loaded both of the handguns and strapped them on. Then I loaded the long gun. The boxes of ammunition went into the bottom compartment of the backpack.

We put on our hats, I slung the backpack on, and Ajie took the long gun. Then grabbing our hiking staffs, we walked over the trail log. I opened it and read the last few entries, and no one mentioned any problems. I also noticed that there were four others on the trail. Two guys and two girls, and they were from Arizona, and they were on the same trail that we were taking and only about twenty minutes ahead of us.

After making our entry in the log, we headed up, and I do mean up, the Gooseberry Trail. In the three to four miles of the trail, we’ll gain about two-thousand feet before we reach the summit.

The trail was interesting. In some places, we hiked through stands of trees. Some were pine trees, some were birch bark trees, and there was a mix of other deciduous trees. In other places, it was just wide open spaces with scattered trees.

The higher we went, the better the views were. After all, Mount Taylor or Tsoodzil is the highest point in the Cibola National Forest and in the San Mateo Mountains.

We were about a half a mile from the summit when we caught up with the other four hikers who were resting on some rocks. Ajie and I had taken our time, and it had been a pleasant hike.

As we got closer to the other hikers, Ajie said, “They look to be native.”

“They do.”, I replied.

As we walked up to four hikers, I said, “Yá’át’ééh - (It is good.)”

They looked at us, and one of the guys said, “You must be Navajo. I’ve heard yá’át’ééh before. But I don’t know what it means.”

“We are Navajo. And Yá’át’ééh is a greeting and basically means it is good. And you four look worn out?”

“We didn’t realize that it was this much of a climb.”

“And you’re not used to the altitude. Are you?”, Ajie said.

“No.”, the guy said. “And we didn’t bring water.”

“Not a good thing in the high desert. We’ll share our water with you and sit with you for a little while.”

“Do you have enough water?”

“Always. That’s something we learned early.”

I took off the backpack and handed them two of our water bottles to share among themselves. And I gave a third water bottle to Ajie. And Ajie said, “You have to be careful of altitude sickness. It can really hurt you.”

“I bet it can.”, the other guy said.

“I know the summit’s in view. But I’ll strongly suggest that after you rest for a little while, that you go back down.”

“Listen to her.”, I said. “She’s an emergency room nurse in Albuquerque.”

“We were just talking about doing that when you walked up.”, the first guy said.

“We’ll stay with you for a while.”, Ajie said. “Just to be sure that you're all right.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, we do.”

Ajie and I sat down on some rocks.

One of the guys asked, “Why the guns?”

“In two words.”, I said. “Mountain People.”

“Mountain People?”

“It’s what the Navajo call bears.”

“There’s bears out here!?”, one of the girls said.

“You’re in a National Forest, so I'd expect so.”, I said. “We haven’t seen any or any signs of one. But better safe than sorry. Where we usually hike, it’s heavily forested, and there are a lot of bears. So we both always carry guns.”

One of the guys said, “You know. That’s not a bad idea.”

“No, it’s not.”, I said. “We had a Forest Service ranger over on the Sandia Crest recommend it.”

“What kind of pistols are those?”

“.45 semiautomatics.”

“That’s a serious gun.”, the guy said. “My dad carried one when he was in the service. What about the rifle?”

“That’s a .45-70 Government cartridge lever action.”, I replied.

“Another serious gun. Have you ever had to use either of them.”

“Thank the Great Spirit, no.”, I replied. “What tribe are you from?”

“We’re Chiricahua Apache.”, the guy said.

“You know this is one of our four sacred mountains?”

“We’d heard that.”

As we sat there, I told them about the sacred mountains and how the creator had placed the Diné or Navajo between four mountains that represent the four cardinal directions. And that the mountain that we were on is called Tsoodzil or the turquoise mountain. And is associated with the color blue, and it’s the southern sacred mountain.

After the four had rested a little longer, they decided to hike back down the mountain without going to the summit. And we agreed that it would be the best thing to do. Ajie and I were going to finish the hike to the summit. We wanted to meditate there.

We gave them a third water bottle and told them to take the three water bottles with them and just to leave them by our car. They thanked us again for being there with water and said that they’d know better next time. One of the girls gave us a look that said that there might not be a next time.

We said so long to them and watched as they started back down the mountain. At least most of it is downhill. I asked Ajie, “Do you think that they’ll be okay?”

“They should be.”, Ajie replied. “As long as they take their time.”

We finished the hike to the summit and the sign that was there. Ajie carefully set the rifle down, and I took off the backpack. Ajie then took her camera out of the backpack and took some pictures from up here. And what a view there is from up here, it’s like you can see forever.

We then spread out the blanket, sat, and meditated. I felt the spirits of the mountain, and I think Ajie did too. We both chanted a short soft chant.

As I was folding up the blanked, Ajie was looking around, she stopped, looked closely at something, and said, “Kai. Honey, come here and look at this.”

I walked over to where Ajie was. She was pointing behind some rocks and said, “Look.”

I walked over and looked at what she was pointing at. And once I realized what they were, I looked around, even in the sky. Then I looked again at what Ajie had pointed at. I then stooped down and picked them up. Them was a pair of Bald Eagle flight feathers.

“Are those what I think they are?”, Ajie asked.

“If you’re thinking Bald Eagle flight feathers. Then, yes.”, I said.

“Where did they come from.”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen any Eagles up here.”

“Do the Eagles fly this high?”

“I think they do.”, I said. “But I don’t know for sure.”

I walked over to Ajie and showed her the feathers. And she said, “Those are in prime condition.”

“They are.”, I said.

I unfolded the blanket and carefully placed the feathers on it. Then I carefully folded the blanket to protect the feathers. And put the blanket into the backpack. Then we put all the wrappings from the food we’d eaten into the backpack to carry out and throw away.

Ajie took the backpack and put it on. I picked up the rifle and slung it over my shoulder. And we started back down the trail towards the car. At about the halfway point, we met a couple of guys hiking up. They looked better prepared than the first four.

I asked them if they’d seen four other hikers. The two guys said that they had at the trailhead, and it appeared that they were getting ready to leave. And that they had mentioned running into us and how we’d helped them. And I said that we were a little worried about them because of altitude sickness. One of the guys said that they did look a little worse for wear.

We said so long and continued down the trail. When we reached the trailhead, we found the three water bottles by the car. After unloading the guns, we put everything in the trunk and started the drive back to Grants, New Mexico. Once we were in Grants, we found a place for a late lunch.

After a quick meal, we headed for home and a late dinner. As we ate, Ajie said, “You’d better call Dr. Joe.”

“You’re right.”, I said. “He’s probably worrying like a father with a teenage daughter out on her first date.”

“Don’t laugh, Kai. If one of the twins is a girl, that’ll be you in a few years.”

I hesitated for a second or two then said, “Oh, yeah. You’re right.”

I got up from the table, walked over to the phone in the kitchen, and dialed Dr. Joe’s home number.

It rang about three times, then I heard, Dr. Joe say, “Oshie residence.”

“Hi, Dr. Joe, it’s Kai. We’re home.”

“It’s about time.”

“Yes, daddy. I’m sorry we were so late.”

“So, how was it?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“It was a great hike, the views from up there are amazing, and we found two more Eagle feathers at the summit.”, I replied.

“You and those Eagle feathers.”

“I know. It surprised us to find them at that altitude and right at the summit.”

“You can tell me all about it tomorrow. Glad you’re home.”

“Me too.”, I replied. “See you tomorrow, Dr. Joe. Hágoónee'. - (See you later.)”

“Hágoónee', Dr. Kai.”, Dr. Joe said.

And we both hung up.

As I walked back to the table and sat, I said, “So, what are we going to do with the new feathers?”

“Maybe add them to the headdresses?”, Ajie replied.

“Good idea.”

“I figure that we’ll be wearing them to the gathering again this year. If we go.”

“We probably should go.”

“So, we’ll need to visit Mrs. Cyl and see if her mother can add the two feathers.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Usually, I’m up before the alarm clock goes off, but on Monday morning, it startled me awake. I rolled over, looked at the clock, turned off the alarm, rolled back over, and looked at Ajie looking at me. I got a kiss and a pleasant, “Good morning, love.”

“Good morning, your Majesty. Do we have to get up.”

“Unfortunately yes.”, Ajie said. “We both have classes to teach this morning.”

“I can’t believe how good I slept.”, I said.

“Me too.”, Ajie said. “It was probably all that fresh air and exercise yesterday.”

As Ajie took her shower, I started breakfast. We ate together, and while she was dressing, I took my shower. As I walked out of the shower, Ajie was dressed, and I got a sweet kiss as she left for the university. I got dressed, and today I added a Concho belt to my look. Then I was off to the university.

At the university, I walked to the engineering building and to the Dean’s office to check my mailbox. Sara was there, and we said good morning to each other, then she said, “Kai, do you have a few minutes to see the Dean.”

“What’d I do now?”, I asked.

With a smile, Sara said, “Nothing. It’s something to do with a launch of some kind.”

“Oh. Okay. I have a nine o’clock class.”

“Let me call, and I’ll see if he can see you now.”

Sara called the Dean, then said, “Go on back. He’s free.”

I walked back to the Dean’s office and knocked. I heard a, “Come in.”

I opened the door, walked into the office, and said, “Good morning, Dean. Did you want to see me?”

The Dean looked at me, smiled, and said, “Good morning, Miss Nez. Have a seat.”

I walked over to the chairs that are in front of his desk and sat in one. Then the Dean said, “Your idea of watching the launch has caught on.”

“Oh.”, I said.

“Yes, I mentioned it to President Lingham, and he loves the idea. So we’re looking at setting it up so that it’s available all over campus.”

“Oh.”

“And he wants you to host it.”

“What! Me?”

“Yes, Miss Nez, you.”, the Dean said.

“I don’t know about that, sir.”, I said.

“Why not?”

“It’s not what I was planning on. I just wanted to have my classes there and show them what we’ve done.”

“Don’t you think that the whole campus might be interested?”

“I guess they might.”

“I think it’s more that might.”

“Where would I host this from?”, I asked.

“From the campus’s closed-circuit TV studio.”, the Dean said.

I pondered this for a minute, then said, “Okay. I’ll do it.”

“I knew you would.”

“I’ll still need a large classroom for my classes.”

“I'll have one for you, Miss Nez.”

Then I looked at the time and said, “I have a nine o’clock class, sir.”

“Okay. I’ll work on this and get with you later.”

I just got up and walked out of the Dean’s office. When Sara saw me, she asked, “Kai, are you alright?”

“Sorry, Sara.”, I said. “Right now, I’m not sure.”

I walked into my classroom just before the bell rang at nine. I walked up in front of the class, and as I set my purse and briefcase on the desk, I said, “Good morning, gentlemen. Before we get started, I have an announcement.

“I don’t know if you know this or not, but I’m also a Research Associate for the university. Last school year, we did a project for N.A.S.A., the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

“Now, on October the 11th at about nine in the morning our time, N.A.S.A. will be resuming the Apollo project with the launch of Apollo 7. This will be the first launch of an Apollo with a three-man crew.

"So, you’re probably wondering, what does this have to do with us? After the fire in Apollo 1 on January 27, 1967, that killed the three astronauts, N.A.S.A. decided to redesign some of the systems for future flights. One of those systems was the guidance system. And we just found out Friday that the research project that we did for N.A.S.A. was part of that guidance system.

“And therefore we have a very keen interest in this flight. So the administration has decided to broadcast it over the university's closed-circuit TV system to all the classrooms that have televisions installed, like this one. And instead of having a regular class that day, your assignment is to watch the launch. I’m going to try and have one classroom reserved for all my classes.

“The details are still not set, but I’ll be sure that you know as soon as I do. And, one last thing, I will be hosting this and talking about the guidance system and our roll in it. Take notes. There’ll be a quiz.”

There was the usual moan.

Then I asked, “Any questions?”

One hand was raised, so I looked at him and said, “Yes.”

“What if we have an eight o’clock class and can’t get to the classroom until nine?”, he asked.

“See me personally, and we’ll try to work something out.”

“Anything else?” … “Good. So, for today’s lecture …

I made the same basic announcement to my ten o’clock class. Then I went to the office. Dr. Joe looked at me, grinned, and said, “I hear that you are going to be a television personality?”

“Don’t go there, Dr. Joe.”, I said.

“It won’t be that bad.”

As I flopped down in the chair at the work table, I said, “Says you. All I wanted to do is do it for my classes, and now it’s for the whole university.”

“So?”

“You know how nervous I’m going to be?”

“You nervous in front of a group of people. I don’t believe that. I remember you that one time with the Board of Regents. You had a whole room full of people.”

“Yeah.”, I said. “And every one of those was a friend.”

“So, just look at the camera as a friend.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Yeah. A big box with a lens and a red light is a friend.”

“Kai, just go with the flow.”

“I guess I started the whole thing.”

“Yes, you did.”

“Since I’ll have to be in the studio, will you monitor my classes?”, I asked.

“Why not.”, Dr. Joe said.

“The Dean is supposed to be reserving a room for my students.”

“Keep after him, or he’ll forget.”

“Will do. So have you looked at the new project yet?”

“No, I was waiting for you.”

“From the write up that we read Friday, it shouldn’t be too bad.”

“I don’t think so either. How about lunch first?

Dr. Joe and I went over to the faculty dining room, and we had lunch. Then back at the office, we dug into the information on the new project, and ideas started to pop into my mind, so I was making notes. Dr. Joe had a class to teach, so he left at a little before two, and I was alone with my thoughts. That can be dangerous.

When Dr. Joe was back at a little after three, he said, “Well, did you finish the design?”

I looked at him and said, “Sure. It’s designed, the printed circuit board is designed and built, and it’s been fully tested.”

Dr. Joe just shook his head.

Then I added, “No design yet, but some ideas.”

“Good. I’m heading home. Lockup when you leave.”

“Everything okay?”

“Oh yeah. Mary just wants to look at some new furniture.”

“I hear you. See you tomorrow, Dr. Joe. Hágoónee'. - (see you later.)”

“Hágoónee', Kai.”

By the time I left, which was about five, I had a rough block design done. Tomorrow I should be able to make a formal block diagram and maybe get started on the schematic. But, I needed to read up on a couple of integrated circuits first.

As I pulled into the garage, I saw Ajie waiting for me, and as usual, when I walked up to the door, I received a big hug and a sweet kiss. Then she looked at me and asked, “How was your day?”

“It looks like I’m going to be a TV personality.”, I replied. “How was your day.”

“A TV personality! Why?”

“Well, the university’s president got wind of what I wanted to do with the Apollo launch. And now want’s it broadcast over the university’s closed circuit TV network with me being some sort of master of ceremony.”

“That sounds cool.”, Ajie said.

“Not to me.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want to stand in front of a TV camera and make a fool of myself.”

“First of all, you won’t make a fool of yourself. You do well in front of people.”

“People, yes. But a TV camera, I don’t know.”

“Love, you will be nervous at first, then you will get into it and just do fine.”

“You think?”, I asked.

With that cute smile of hers, Ajie replied, “I know you will.”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

On Tuesday, I told my two sections of Electric Circuits the same thing that I'd told my Electronic Circuits and Systems classes on Monday. And later in the afternoon, I all so told my Computer Design class about it. And between times, we worked on the project for Los Alamos, and I got a good part of the schematic diagram done. And this may be easier than I initially thought.

Wednesday and Thursday after classes, it was working on the project. And, one of the integrated circuits took a little more reading on, so that slowed things down a little bit. But I got the schematic done, and the parts list. Hopefully, I could start building the breadboard tomorrow.

On Friday after class, I was ready to start building the breadboard of the circuit, but you know what can happen to the plans that you’ve made. And when I walk into the office, Dr. Joe said, “There’s a meeting at one in the Dean’s conference room, and they want us there.” 

So, my plans for today just went down the drain.

I asked, “Any idea of what it’s about?”

“Your TV premiere.”

“Oh.”

I walked over, took the project out of the file cabinet, sat at the work table, and went to work. At least I can get something done today.

I’d been at it for a little while when Dr. Joe said, “Kai, do you want to go to lunch.”

“No.”, I replied.

“What’s wrong?”

“This whole thing with the launch. It started as something fun to do with my class, and now it’s snowballed into a major production.”

“It happens sometimes.”

“Yeah. But I don’t have to like it.”

“I know. But it’ll be over soon.”

Dr. Joe and I worked for a little while, then he asked, “Are you sure that you don’t want to go to lunch?”

“I’m sure.”, I replied. “I’m not hungry.”

“Kai, you’ve got to eat.”

“I know. But not now. Maybe after this damn meeting.”

“Kai, don’t go into that meeting with a chip on your shoulder. The Dean is looking at what’s best for the university, and so should you.”

I looked up at Dr. Joe and said, “You’re right. I was just thinking of myself and not the good of the whole.”

“No, you just had your plan superseded, and you reacted to it. And you’ll find that it won’t be the last time that something like this will happen.”

“I know. I’m just being too sensitive.”

“Kai, you are a sensitive person. And you are not too sensitive.”

“If you say so.”

“I do. And I also say, let’s get lunch.”

“Do we have time for hamburgers?”, I asked.

“The drive-in?”, Dr. Joe responded.

“Where else. I’ll even drive and buy.”

“Wonders will never cease!”

We were back at the university with just enough time to make a stop in the restrooms, and get to the conference room. As we walked past Sara’s desk, she said, “Kai. Dr. Oshie, go on back.”

We walked back to the conference room, and the door was open, so we walked in. President Lingham was there, as was Dean Rutherford, and was another man and a woman who I’d never seen before.

President Lingham was the first to see us, and he said, “Oh good, Miss Nez and Dr. Oshie are here.”

The four of them turned and looked at us, and the woman said, “This is Miss Nez!? I’ve seen her on campus before, and I’ve always marveled as to how pretty she is.”

“Yes.”, Dean Rutherford said. “This is our Miss Nez.”

President Lingham then said, “Miss Nez and Dr. Oshie, this is Mr. Hunter and Miss Foster from the Audio Visual Department. Mr. Hunter and Miss Foster, this is Miss Kai Nez and Dr. Joe Oshie from the Electrical Engineering Department.”

We exchanged greetings. Then we sat and talked about next Friday and what we were going to do. And the more we talked, the better I felt about things. Audio Visual was going to begin covering the launch at eight in the morning, and if everything went as planned at Cape Kennedy and the launch went at nine, they would stop coverage at ten. And at eight-thirty, a half an hour before the scheduled launch, I would have fifteen minutes to explain the university’s roll in the Apollo program.

I had two concerns. The first was would I be able to watch the launch from the studio. And Mr. Hunter guaranteed me that I’d be able to. The second thing was that I’d have a classroom big enough to hold all of my classes where they could watch the launch. Dean Rutherford answered that when he said, “Miss Nez, I reserved Room 122 in Northrup Hall, which is the Geology building. And it seats two-hundred and sixty-four.”

“That will work just fine. Thank you, Dean Rutherford.”, I replied.

As we were breaking up, Miss Foster walked up to me and said, “Miss Nez, I’ll be directing you on Friday. If you want to do a run through before Friday, let me know.”

“I do better off the cuff, Miss Foster.”, I replied. “So, I’ll just play it by ear.”

“If you decide to change your mind, just let me know.”

“I will.”

As Dr. Joe and I were walking back to the office, he asked, “Well, Kai, was it that bad?”

“I guess not.”, I replied. “It sounds like everything is under control.”

“I think it is. As long as you know what you’re going to say.”

“I’m going to read over the things that N.A.S.A. gave us and make some notes. Then I’ll know what I’m going to say.”

We worked on the project for another couple of hours and called it a day.

Later as Ajie and I were sitting down to dinner, the phone rang. Ajie jumped up and answered it, and I heard, “Hello.” … “Oh, hi, Aunt Ruth.” … “What’s wrong!?” … “Oh, no.” … “By helicopter?” … “Half an hour ago.” … “We’ll run over right away, and I’ll call you.” … “Hágoónee'.”

As Ajie hung up the phone, she said, “Come on?”

“What’s going on?”, I asked.

“Naainish was in an accident, and they’re bringing him in to the hospital by helicopter.”

“Oh, dear Great Spirit, no! What happened?”

“Aunt Ruth didn’t say. Come on.”

I got up, made sure everything was turned off, and the house was locked up. Then Ajie and I headed to the hospital. We parked in the Emergency Room parking lot, and all but ran into the ER. The triage nurse saw Ajie and said, “Ajie, what’s wrong?”

“Sally, did they just bring someone in by helicopter?”

“Yes.”

“What room is he in?”

“Seventeen.”

Ajie looked at me and said, “That’s a trauma room.”

“Stay out here, and I’ll see what I can find out.” 

I didn’t want to, but I stayed in the waiting room. But I didn’t sit, I paced.

I don’t know how long Ajie was gone, but when she came back out, she was wearing a gown.

We walked up to each other, and Ajie said, “Honey, he was driving, and someone going the other went left of center and hit him head on. He was wearing a seat belt. But he’s in bad shape. He has broken bones and internal injuries. He’ll be going into surgery soon.”

“I’ve got to see him.”, I said.

“I know. Come with me.”

I followed Ajie back into the ER, and as we approached room seventeen, Ajie picked up a gown, handed to me, saying, “Put this on.”

Ajie looked into the room and said, “Dr. Thomas, can we come in.”

I heard a man say, “You know, Miss Nez. I don’t believe this native stuff.”

“I know, doctor. But your patient does, and my cousin and I do. And it may do some good for my cousin to be with him until he goes to surgery.”

“All right, Miss Nez. Come on in. He’ll be going to surgery in a few minutes.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

Ajie looked at me and said, “Come on, Kai. And don’t be surprised as to how he looks. And what you see in there. Things happen quickly, and we don’t try to be neat about disposing of things.”

Ajie took my hand, and we walked into the room. I couldn’t believe all the wires and hoses that I saw, and the room looked like a bomb had hit it. Naainish didn’t look very good.

Ajie and I, still holding hands, walked over to Naainish’s bed. And I said, “Dear, Great Spirit, please help him. He’s a wonderful man.”

I saw his left hand move, and I took it in my hand. Then I started to chant, and Ajie joined me. We were only there for a few minutes before they came to take him to surgery. Ajie asked if we could walk with him. And someone said that we could.

With me still holding Naainish’s hand, we walked towards the elevators, took the elevator to the surgical floor, then we walked through the doors into the hall that leads to the surgical suites. We had to stop at the entrance to the surgical suite. I bent down and whispered, “Naainish, shik'is, hágoónee'. - (Naainish, my friend, see you later.)”

I felt him squeeze my hand. Then they took him into surgery, and I felt the tears start to run down my cheeks. Ajie and I walked out of surgery, got rid of the gowns that we were wearing, and went to the surgical waiting room. Which at this hour was almost empty.

We stopped at the surgical information desk, and Ajie told the woman there who she was and who we were waiting for that was in surgery. She asked us if we were family, and we said no. She then asked if any of his family was coming, and Ajie said she didn’t know, but would find out.

I walked to the seating area with Ajie, and she asked, “Honey, I have to know. What did you feel when you held Naainish’s hand.”

“A strong spirit.”, I said. “A spirit that I felt was telling me that he was fighting and that he would see us again in this life.”

“I pray to the Great Spirit that it’s true.”

“It is.”

“I’ll be right back. I need to call Aunt Ruth and see if he has any relatives coming.”

Ajie walked over to the payphones and called Aunt Ruth. They talked for a little while. After she hung up, Ajie walked over to the woman at the information desk and told her something, then she walked over to me, sat, and said, “I filled Aunt Ruth in on what’s going on. And she told me that his Aunt Hozhona, her daughter Haloke, her husband, and their daughter Johona were coming.”

When Ajie had said Johona, I remembered back to her grandfather, Mr. Yazzie’s funeral, and when Ajie and I gave her the squash blossom necklace that day. And I said, “You know, I feel that it will be good that Johona will be here. She’s young and is just finding out about the old ways. And she is strong.”

“You think?”

“Yes, I know.”, I replied. “How long will this surgery take?”

“It’ll depend on what they find. It could be hours. It's good that Naainish is strong.”

“Yes, he is. His body has taken a beating, but his spirit is strong.”

Ajie and I just sat there. Then about an hour and a half later, we saw Naainish’s Aunt Hozhona, who is Mr. Yazzie’s widow, walk in with her daughter Haloke, Haloke’s husband, Ashkii, and their daughter Johona. They looked surprised to see Ajie and me sitting there. We stood, and they walked over to us, and we hugged.

Then Naainish’s Aunt Hozhona said, “Kai. Ajie. What are you doing here?”

“My Aunt Ruth called and told us.”, I said. “And we just had to be here for Naainish.”

“Did you get to see him?”

“Yes, we got here while he was still in the emergency room. And Ajie got us in to see him, and then we walked with him to surgery.”

“How long has he been in surgery?”

“Going on two hours.”, Ajie said.

“Is … Is he going to be all right?”, Johona asked.

“Johona.”, I said. “When I was with him, I felt a strong spirit. But as Ajie will tell you, he was badly hurt. And right now, it’s up to the Great Spirit and the doctors.”

“I know the doctors that are working on him right now.”, Ajie said. “And they are excellent trauma surgeons.”

“You know the doctors?”

“Yes, I’m a nurse in the emergency room.”

“Oh. So I guess you do know them.”

“I do. And everyone here is very good with traumas.”

“Johona.”, I said. “Come sit with me.”

Johona walked over to a couch with me, we sat, and I offered her my hands. She took my hands, and I said, “Johona, I feel that you and I together can help Naainish.”

“How?”, Johona asked.

“By praying together. I can already feel your strong spirit, and together our spirits will help him.”

“Kai, I always feel so good when I’m with you. And for some reason, I believe what you’re telling me.”

“As you should. Now close your eyes, listen to my chant, and think of Naainish.”

She did as I asked. And I started a quiet, soft, chant. My chant lasted about five minutes. When I finished, I looked at Johona, her eyes were closed, and her breathing was slow and rhythmic. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes, looked at me, and asked, “What just happened?”

“I don’t know, Johona.”, I said. “But I do know that we have probably helped Naainish. I felt his spirit, and it was still strong.”

“Kai, what I felt was also strong.”

“It may have been Naainish’s spirit.”, I said.

“So, we helped him?”, Johona asked.

“I think we did.”

I looked at everyone else, and they were looking at Johona and me. Ajie asked, “Well?”

“I feel that Johona and I may have helped Naainish. Only time will tell.”

Naainish’s Aunt Hozhona then said, “Kai and Ajie, we’re here now. Why don’t you two go home?”

“No.”, I said. “We’ll stay until he’s out of surgery.”

“That could be a long time.”

“It could.”, Ajie said. “But Naainish is special to us.”

And it was hours. About four hours after Naainish’s family had arrived, that I was shaken out of a sound sleep, when Ajie said, “Kai. Kai wake up.”

“Huh. What?”, I responded.

“The doctors want to talk to us.”

We woke up everyone else and went to a room where the doctors would come. We waited for about ten minutes, and two doctors walked in. One of them looked at Ajie and said, “Miss Nez, what are you doing here?”

“Hello, Dr. MacCallum.”, Ajie said. “Mr. Yazzie is a dear friend, and my cousin and I just had to be here for him.”

“You could have assisted in surgery.”

“I know. But it was more important for us to be here with his family.”

“I understand.”

“So, how is Mr. Yazzie?”

“He was fortunate.”, Dr. MacCallum said. “He has a right tib/fib fracture, which we had to do surgery to repair with plates. He also broke his right humerus, but we were able to set that without surgery. We did have to go in and do some work internally, and I won’t go into details on that right now.

“We also feel that if he hadn’t been wearing the seat belt that he would have died in the crash.

“We do have one concern that we won’t know much about until he wakes up. And that’s he's sustained a head injury. It doesn’t appear to be too serious, but as I said, we won’t know until he wakes up.

“Mr. Yazzie will be going to recovery, and we’ll keep him sedated for a while just to be sure that things are going the way we want it to. Then he’ll go to intensive care until we’re confident that he’s stable, then to a room.

“Once we leave, Miss Nez can probably answer anything that comes up. Do you have any questions for us?”

“Doctor, thank you for everything.”, Naainish’s Aunt Hozhona said.

“I’m glad we could help him.”, Dr. MacCallum said. “I would suggest that you go home and get some rest. Then come back later today, and we should know more. Leave a number where you can be reached with the lady at the information desk.”

“We’ll do that, doctor.”

As Dr. MacCallum and the other doctor were leaving, Ajie walked with them. And they stopped and talked for a little while. When Ajie rejoined us, she asked, “Do you have any questions?”

Johona asked, “What’s a tib/fib?”

“Those are the two bones in your lower leg, and they are the tibia and fibula bones.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s too late to drive back home tonight.”, Haloke’s husband said. “I guess we need to find a motel.”

“No.”, I said. “We have room for all of you at the house.

“We can’t do that.”, Naainish’s Aunt Hozhona said.

“Why not?”, Ajie said. “We have two bedrooms and a hogan.”

“A hogan?”

“Well, it’s a little more than a hogan. We kid about charging hotel rates for it. It has wood floors, multiple kerosene lanterns, a fire pit, and a queen-size bed. But no bathroom.”

“What do the rest of you think?”, Naainish’s Aunt Hozhona asked.

“It is too late to drive all the way home.”, Haloke said. “And it’s a wonderful offer.”

Haloke’s husband and Johona agreed with her. Then I said, “You can either leave your car here, and we’ll bring you back in the morning. Or you can follow us.”

They decided to leave the car at the hospital, as they were afraid of getting lost. So we left our home telephone number with the lady at the information desk, and the six of us, in our car, headed to the house.

As we pulled up to the house, Naainish’s Aunt Hozhona said, “Kai and Ajie, this is your house!?”

“Yes.”, Ajie said.

“I can’t wait to see this in the daylight.”

We didn’t give the usual tour. But we just showed them the two bedrooms and the bathrooms. Then we took them out through the courtyard to the hogan, and they were amazed. Naainish’s aunt decided to stay in one of the bedrooms. Something about being close to the bathroom. Haloke and her husband, Ashkii, decided on the hogan. So Johona got the other bedroom. I quickly laid and lit a small fire in the hogan’s fire pit and then lit the two lanterns on the bedside tables. Then I explained about the bathroom and gave them the keys and a flashlight.