The twins have been born. The little boy, Tsé, was born on Wednesday, December 11, and the little girl, Haseya, was born on Thursday, December 12. Two different days, but only fourteen minutes apart.

And I’m going to hate seeing the telephone bill after all the telephone calls that we’d made. During the call to Ajie’s parents, we found out that Bill and Bridget were coming out for Christmas. There’s going to be ten of us in the house for three or four days. Not to mention people who’ll stop in.

Sunday had held a surprise for us. The surprise was seeing my mother walk down the boarding stairs from the airplane with Ajie’s mother.

Monday morning, when Ajie and I got up, we found our mothers sitting in the big room watching television. After saying good morning, my mother asked, “They were talking about this space launch thing on the news this morning. Do you have anything to do with it, Kai?”

“That’s Apollo 8.”, I replied. “What we designed is part of the guidance system, so I guess we have something to do with it.”

“Mom.”, Ajie said. “Don’t let Kai kid you. The part she designed is what her doctoral dissertation is based on.”

“So, Kai you do have an interest in this launch?”, Ajie’s mom asked.

“Yes.”, I replied. “I have an interest in all of them. This one is scheduled for this Saturday at about six local time. So I’ll be up early.”

My mother grinned and said, “Yes, you probably will be up early. The twins will be here, and they will have complete control over your sleep schedule.”

“You’re right, Jean.”, Ajie's mother said. “Those babies will have them up every two to three hours for a few months.”

“Have you two had breakfast yet?”, I asked.

“No.”, Ajie's mother said.

“If you’ll excuse us for about fifteen minutes.”, I said. “I know Ajie has planned a nice breakfast for us.”

“I think we can wait.”, my mother said.

Ajie gave me a questioning look and asked, “What are we doing?”

“You’re coming with me.”, I said as I took her hand and led her through the patio doors to the back courtyard. And as I did that, I looked over my shoulder and said, “We’re just going out to the hogan for a little bit.”

Then I led Ajie through the courtyard and out to the hogan. As I opened the door to the hogan, Ajie asked, “Why are we going here.”

“Little girl.”, I said. “I’ve sensed that you are very nervous and excited right now. And I know that it’s over the arrival of the twins tomorrow. And I also know that if we don’t do something about it now, tomorrow it will be much worse.”

“Yeah. You’re right.”, Ajie said.

I left the door open until I’d lit two lanterns and had a fire burning in the fire pit, then I closed the door. I took two rugs and set one on either side of the fire pit. Then as I pointed at one of the rugs, I said, “Ajie, sit there.”

Ajie walked over to the rug and sat. I sat on the other rug. Then I looked into the fire and started to meditate. Then a chant came to me. I started with the chant, and shortly Ajie joined me.

We sat and meditated for about ten minutes. Then I looked over at Ajie. She looked at me and whispered, “Thank you, sweetheart.”

“You’re welcome, love. I knew that I had to do something.”

We stood and hugged. Then I extinguished the lanterns, put the rugs back where they belonged, and we’d let the fire in the fire pit burn itself out. We went back into the house, and Ajie said to our mothers, “Would you two like a southwest egg scramble for breakfast with toast.”

“That sounds yummy.”, Ajie's mother said.

“It does.”, my mother said. “And I’ll make coffee.”

As we ate, Ajie's mother asked, “Was something wrong this morning?”

“Mom.”, Ajie said. “This thing with the twins was getting to me, and Kai saw it. So, we went out to the hogan and meditated.”

“Is everything okay?”

“It is now, mom. Thanks to Kai.”

“She was getting too excited and nervous over this whole thing.”, I said. “So we needed to do something about it.”

After breakfast, I went out and checked the fire in the fire pit. I hadn’t made a big fire, so it had already burned down and was only hot coals.

I’d thought that I’d heard the phone ring while I was in the hogan, and when I walked back into the house, Ajie said, “Mrs. Biakeddy called.”

“Oh?”, I said.

“Yeah. She gave me the name of the formula that the twins are on.”

“And?”

“That was it.”

I saw that sneaky smile on Ajie’s face, so I knew that there was more. So, I said, “Ajie, what else did she tell you?”

“Nothing.”, Ajie said.

“That smile on your face is giving you away.”

“They should be here around eleven tomorrow morning with the twins.”

I grinned and said, “That will be one of the best things ever.”

“One of? What could be better?”, Ajie asked.

“Two things. You coming back from Minnesota and us getting married.”

Ajie thought for a second, then said, “You’re right. But, I’d rate them equally.”

“You’re right. So, are we going grocery shopping?”, I asked.

“No. Our mothers and I are going. They want to see where the grocery store and drug store are.”

“Okay. I’ve got some touch-up work to do on my dissertation.”

“You still want me to type it up for you. Don’t you?”, Ajie asked.

“Of course. If you’re going to have time.”, I asked.

“I’ll try. If you’ll watch the twins.”

“I’ll be happy to.”

It wasn’t much later that Ajie, her mom, and my mom left for the grocery store. I retrieved my dissertation from the office, sat at the dining room table, and started going over it. I’d been at it for a short time when I heard the ding from the sensor in the driveway. I thought, ‘Back already. I wonder what they forgot.’

A minute or so later, I heard the ding-dong from the sensor at the gate in the front courtyard. And then I heard the doorbell. I got up, walked to the front door, and opened it. Standing there was a man in a uniform, a uniform from the diaper service. He also appeared to be a native. He asked, “Are you, Mrs. Nez?”

“I’m Kai Nez.”, I replied.

“I’m Mike Chino from the diaper service, and I have your first delivery of diapers for the two babies.”

“Good. We’re expecting you.”

“I’ll go and get the two pails and diapers.”

He walked back to his truck and was quickly back with the two pails and diapers. Then he said, “All you need to do is place your dirty diapers in the pails, and then on Monday place the pails here on the porch by Noon. And we’ll pick them up and drop off clean diapers and pails. And we figure ten diapers a day for new borne, and since you have twins, there will be one-hundred and fifty diapers. And we’ll adjust the amount and size as we need to.

“Also, our diapers all have a red thread in them, so that you can tell them apart from any others that you have.”

“Thank you.”, I said. “This is going be a big help. Would it help you if we put the pails at the gate?”

“It would be nice, but it’s not necessary. I’d still be leaving the clean things on the porch.”

“That would also be nice.”

As the man was leaving, I took a chance and said, “Hágoónee'. - (See you later.)”

He turned and looked at me and asked, “Navajo?”

“Yes.”

“Mescalero Apache. But I know a little Navajo, and I know what hágoónee' means. So, see you later, Miss Nez.”

“You know more Navajo than I know Apache. See you later, Mike.”

The man left, and I took the pails and diapers into the house and to the master suite. And then I went back to work on my dissertation.

A while later, I heard the single ding. I looked at the clock, and it was almost Noon. I figured that Ajie was back with our mothers. So I headed for the garage and got there just as everyone was getting out of the car. As I walked over to the car to help with the groceries, I asked, “Did you guys buy out the store?”

“Almost.”, my mother said.

“We figured that we might as well get everything for Christmas dinner that we didn’t already have.”, Ajie said. “And the turkey goes in the freezer. Mom also found the sausage to make her stuffing.”

“I love that stuffing.”, I said.

“And Betty and I are taking you two out to dinner tonight.”, my mother said.

“Why?”, I asked.

“Honey, starting tomorrow, you won’t be going out to eat much.”

“I never thought about that.”

“You’d better. Those two children are going to be your primary concern for a long time.”

“Now that I have thought about!”

We spent some time putting the groceries away. The walk-in pantry and refrigerator, not to mention the freezer, have never been so full. And I said, “It looks like we’re feeding a small army.”

“We are.”, Ajie said.

“By the way, the diapers were delivered.”, I said.

“Good. Where are they?”

“In the master suite. And there’s one-hundred and fifty diapers.”

“Oh. We’ll have to put some of them in the storage closet until we need them.”

“There’s still a lot of room in our walk-in closet.”, I said. “Why don’t we find a small chest of drawers for in there. That way, everything will be close.”

“Good idea.”, Ajie said.

“I’ll have a look at the used furniture store the next time I’m at the university.”

“We also picked up something at the drug store.”

“What was that?”

“Baby bottle warmers.”

“Baby bottle warmers?”, I asked.

“We got to talking and figured that when the twins got hungry that we could put their bottles in the warmer, change them, and by then, the bottles should be warm.”

“Good idea.”

We then put together a nice lunch for the four of us. And as we ate, I said, “Mom and mom, since you’re buying dinner, you get to choose where we go.”

“You probably know the good places, honey.”, Ajie’s mom said. “So, you pick.”

I looked at Ajie, and she said, “Old Town?”

“La Placita Dining Rooms?”, I answered.

“That would be a good place for a last meal.”, Ajie said with a smile.

“Yeah, but I’d like a sangria.”

“I’ll make some. Then we can have it when we’re back home.”

“And yours is better than theirs.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere.”

Later that day, we were parking in Old Town, Albuquerque. Ajie’s mother wanted to see the San Felipe de Neri Church, which was built in 1793. My mother-in-law was impressed by how old the church was and the architecture.

A short time later, we were sitting down to dinner the La Placita Dining Rooms. We were in the room where the cottonwood tree grows out of the floor and through the roof. We had a good meal, and Ajie and our mothers had sangria while I drank iced tea.

The Sun had been out all day, and the snow was gone. I knew that the adobe had absorbed the Sun's heat so that the bedrooms would be warm. We were back home early in the evening, so I laid and lit a fire in the big room’s fireplace, and we sat and talked. Ajie went and brought each of us a glass of her sangria. As my mother tasted it, she said, “Honey, this is really good. And it's better than what we had at dinner.”

“Thanks, mom.”, Ajie said. “You need to thank Aunt Ruth. It’s her recipe.”

“I’ll do that.

We sat and talked until about nine-thirty, and our mothers were the first to turn in. And Ajie and I were in bed by eleven-thirty.

Ajie had tossed and turned last night. I knew that she was thinking about the twins coming home tomorrow. And she got up early. I slept a little longer and finally got out of bed around six. And I found Ajie and our mothers sitting at the breakfast counter.

“Well, good morning, sleepyhead.”, my mother said.

“Good morning.”, I said. Then I looked at Ajie and asked, “Is it eleven o’clock yet?”

“No!”, Ajie snapped.

I gave her a cross look and said, “Do we need to go back out to the hogan.”

“No. I’m sorry.”

“You’ve gotten nervous again. Haven’t you?”

“Yes. And I shouldn’t let it get to me.”

“Honey.”, my mother said. “It’s a big step. And you’re allowed to be nervous about it.”

“Want me to make breakfast?”, I asked.

“Sure.”, Ajie said. “And I’ll help.”

Ajie and I quickly put together breakfast for the four of us. And it was extra quiet as we ate.

Finally, Ajie’s mother said, “Kids, I know this is a big moment for you. You’re going from a family of two to a family of four in one fell swoop. It will all be new to you. But you two can handle it without a problem. Ajie’s a nurse, an emergency room nurse, who can handle things quickly and accurately. Kai, you’re the logical one and see things for what they are.

“The two of you will make wonderful parents.”

“Yes, you will.”, my mother said.

“Mom and mom.”, Ajie said. “If you guys weren’t here, I’d be a basket case by now. We’re going to have two little people in our care. And we have to do everything for them.”

“Ajie, think of your nurse's training.”, my mother said. “Isn’t that what you were trained to do. Help people that can’t help themselves.”

Ajie sat back, looked at my mother, and said, “Mom, you’re right. My nurse’s training should help us get through this.”

“It will. Besides, things will come to you as you need them.”

Ajie just nodded yes.

We just talked the morning away. Then we heard the driveway sensor ding. Ajie jumped, and her mom asked, “What was that?”

“That was the sensor in the driveway.”, I said. “It lets us know when someone is in the driveway.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll explain later, mom.”

A couple of minutes later, we heard the sensor from the front gate. Ajie’s mother looked at me, and I said, “That’s the front gate.”

“Oh.”, Ajie’s mom said.

Ajie and I, followed by our mothers, walked towards the front door. Then we heard the doorbell. As we walked up to the front door, we opened both of them. Mrs. Biakeddy and Mrs. Deschinny were standing there, each holding a baby swaddled in a beautiful blanket.

Ajie and I both said, “Yá’át’ééh. T'áá shoodí wóshde´e´’. - (It is good. Please come in.)”

Mrs. Biakeddy and Mrs. Deschinny both smiled, and then Mrs. Biakeddy said, “Yá’át’ééh. We have two little bundles for you.”

“Well then please come in.”, Ajie said as we backed away from the door. Ajie led everyone into the big room, as I closed the doors.

As I walked into the big room, Mrs. Deschinny handed me her bundle, and she said, “Kai, this is your little boy, Tsé.”

I took the baby and cradled him in my arms, looked down at him, and smiled. He looked up at me with his big dark eyes. Then I said, “Yá’át’ééh awéé’ ashkii, Tsé. - (Welcome baby boy, Tsé.)”

Then as Mrs. Biakeddy handed Ajie her bundle, she said, “Ajie, this is your little girl, Haseya.”

Ajie took the little bundle from Mrs. Biakeddy, and she looked down at the baby. She just didn’t smile, she beamed. Then she said, “Yá’át’ééh awéé’ at’ééd, Haseya. - (Welcome baby girl, Haseya.)”

Ajie then looked at Mrs. Biakeddy and said, “Thank you.”

I then looked at Mrs. Deschinny and said, “Yes, thank you very much.”

Mrs. Biakeddy said, “I always love this part.

“Now, these two slept all the way from Taos until we were just about here. They had their diapers changed and were fed just before we left Taos. So, they are probably hungry and may also need to have their diapers changed.

“We brought a couple of bottles of formula with us, so if someone could warm them up while Ajie, Kai, and we change them, that would be nice.”

“Betty and I can warm the bottles.”, my mother said.

As Mrs. Biakeddy retrieved the baby bottles from the diaper bag that she’d had with her, I introduced Mrs. Biakeddy and Mrs. Deschinny to our mothers.

My mother took the bottles from Mrs. Biakeddy and handed one to Ajie’s mother. Then, Mrs. Biakeddy, Mrs. Deschinny, Ajie, the two babies, and I went to the master suite. As we walked into the bedroom, Mrs. Biakeddy said, “I see that you’re all set up.”

“I hope so.”, Ajie said.

“You’ll be fine.”

Ajie went first and changed little Haseya, and as she did, she quietly sang to her. Holding Tsé, who was a bit fussy, I watched as Ajie un-swaddled Haseya, then removed her disposable diaper and used a baby wipe to carefully clean her up. Then she powdered Haseya and put her into a cloth diaper, being careful not to stick her with a diaper pin. Finally, she slipped Haseya into a pair of rubber pants and re-swaddled her.

Then it was my turn, and everything started fine. Except he was, shall I say, a little stinky. When I'd gotten to the point where I’d removed Tsé’s disposable diaper, I turned to grab a baby wipe, turned back to him, and found out why you cover a boy’s front when they’re not wearing a diaper. His little bladder must have been full because he got me. He got me good. He peed on my blouse and skirt.

This, of course, brought laughs from my three companions.

Then Ajie said, “Did I forget to warn you about that?”

“Yes, you did.”, I replied. “Lesson learned. And now you can finish changing Tsé while I get cleaned up and changed.”

Ajie placed Haseya in the crib and finished changing Tsé while I grabbed a clean skirt and blouse, and went into the en suite to clean up. When I came out, there wasn’t anyone in the bedroom. So I went out into the house and saw Ajie feeding Haseya, and my mother feeding Tsé. Everyone was looking at me and grinning. So I said, “Yeah, I learned a lesson.”

“Kai, do you want to finish feeding Tsé?”, my mother asked.

“You’re doing just fine, mom. I’ll start lunch.” Then looking at Ajie, I asked, “You did ask Mrs. Biakeddy and Mrs. Deschinny to stay for lunch. Didn’t you?”

“Of course I did.”, Ajie replied. “And they’re staying.”

I went into the kitchen with my mother-in-law, and we started getting things ready for lunch. A little while later, Ajie walked in, and I asked, “Where’s Haseya?”

“In bed. She fell asleep right after I burped her.”

“And so did Tsé.”, my mother said as she walked into the kitchen with Mrs. Biakeddy and Mrs. Deschinny.

Then I noticed something was missing. And I said, “Excuse me for a minute.”

I tiptoed into the master suite and looked at the two sleeping babies lying side by side. I couldn’t help but smile. Then I checked the baby monitor on the chest of drawers next to their bed and turned it on. I then picked up the remote receiver, and as I walked out of the master suite, I turned it on.

As I walked back into the kitchen, I didn’t say anything. But set the remote receiver on the breakfast bar.

Lunch was ready very shortly after I was back, and we sat at the dining room table. As we ate, Mrs. Biakeddy filled us in on some things. The babies had been seen by a pediatrician the day they were born then again today just before they left the hospital. And both of them are doing fine. And that we should take them to see a pediatrician when they’re about one month old. Also, the babies appeared to be on the same schedule, a three-hour feeding schedule, and are taking about two and a half ounces of formula at each feeding.

Then she handed us two folders, and said, “These are the hospitals and pediatricians records on the children. Also, their birth certificates. There are also pictures of them taken right after birth, and I guess that you can order more from the hospital.”

I took the two folders and looked in them. They were identical, the paperwork that Mrs. Biakeddy had told us about was there. And then there was an eight by ten of each twin and a dozen wallet size photos. Then there were two eight by tens of the two of them together.

I set the pictures on the table. The two grandmothers, in unison, pointed to the picture of the two of them together and said, “I want one of those.”

“There’s two of them, and we’ll get more made. So, mom, you can take one home with you on Thursday.”, I said. “And any others that you want.”

“That would be wonderful.”, my mother said. “So, we could have two of each of the wallet-sized pictures.”

“Of course you can.”, Ajie said.

Then Mrs. Biakeddy handed me an envelope. I opened it and took out a check. I looked at the check and asked, “What’s this for?”

“The state pays thirty-five dollars a month while a child is in foster care.”, Mrs. Biakeddy said. “And this seventy dollars is for the first month for the two of them.”

“First, we don’t want the money. And why foster care? I thought we were adopting them.”

“You are. But, until the final adoption decree, it’s legally called fostering. And the state requires us to give you the money, and it has to be used for qualified expenses, like clothing, toys, food, daycare, and medical expenses. Once the adoption is finalized, the child will no longer be in foster care, and the payments will stop.”

“Could we put it into an educational trust fund for them?”

“I don’t know. Have you started one for them already?”, Mrs. Biakeddy asked.

“No.”, I said. “But it won’t be long until they have one.”

“I’ll have to look into it.”

“We’d like it if you would.”, Ajie said.

Then I went and got something from the office. When I was back, I handed an envelope to Mrs. Biakeddy. And she asked, “What’s this?”

“Something for the birth mother.”, I replied.

“Can I open the envelope?”

“Yes. But, when you put the papers back in it, seal it.”

Mrs. Biakeddy opened the envelope and took the papers out. She looked at the papers, passed the papers to Mrs. Deschinny, then she looked at me and then at Ajie. Then she said, “This is an educational trust fund for the girl.”

“Yes, it is.”, I said.

“And it’s a lot of money.”

“Yes, it is. I know that the girl is either a high school freshman or sophomore. And that isn’t going to give the trust fund long to grow. So it needed to be what it is.”

“And I see that her parents are the trustees. How did you get their names?”

“That’s not important.”, I said.

“I see.”, Mrs. Biakeddy said. “Chief Clah?”

“No, it wasn’t Chief Clah. We know better than even to ask him. I feel that if we did ask him, he wouldn’t tell us, even if he knew. It would break the trust between you and him. Besides, remember that we’ve met her parents.”

“I didn’t think it was him.”

“And we’d like it if you could see to it that the girl gets this.”

“I’ll be happy to do that.”

“And please be sure that the hospital bills us for the twin's care.”

“They’ve been told to do that.”

Later as Mrs. Biakeddy and Mrs. Deschinny were leaving, Mrs. Biakeddy said, “Please let me know if there are any problems. But, I feel that there won’t be any.”

“We will, Mrs. Biakeddy.”, Ajie replied. “And I hope there won’t be any.”

The four of us walked with the ladies to the front door and said hágoónee' - (see you later) to them. As they walked through the front gate, we heard the ding-dong, and Ajie’s mother asked, “Okay. What’s with the chimes?”

“We live on a dead-end road and down a long driveway.”, Ajie said. “And we never knew when anyone was coming. So, Kai put in the two sensors. One in the driveway and the other on the gate into the front courtyard.”

“Good idea.”, Ajie’s mother said. “Where did you get them?”

“Kai built them.”

“I’m sorry. I forgot. I forgot that Kai is big into electronics.”

“Big is right. She almost has her graduate degree.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“No worry.”, I said. “There’s also times that I’d like to forget.”

When we were all back and sitting in the big room, I said to Ajie, “I thought it was cute how you were singing to Haseya while you were changing her.”

“I was trying to soothe her.”, Ajie replied.

“You did that, and Tsé also liked it. He settled down.”

“I noticed.”

“We’re going to have to get a cassette recorder and record you singing so that I can play it to them when I need to change them, and you’re not here.”

Not long after the ladies from Navajo Children and Family Services had left, we started hearing noises in the baby monitor. Ajie's mother said, “It sounds like someone is waking up.”

“Should we let them go for a little while?”, Ajie asked.

“I would.”, Ajie’s mother replied. “You don’t want them to learn that every time they cry that you’ll come running.”

“No, we don’t.”

It wasn’t long until one of them started to cry, and the other one joined in. After a couple of minutes, Ajie looked at me and said, “Let’s go, Kai. And mom and mom, if you’d do the honors of warming up their bottles.”

As I got up, I said, “Ajie, you get Tsé this time.”

“Afraid of getting wet again?”, Ajie quipped.

I just looked at her. We found that both of the twins had filled their diapers this time. Stinky. We got the twins changed. Then we rinsed their dirty diapers out in the toilet before putting them in the diaper pail. I hope the septic system is good.

We carried them out to the big room. The grandmothers had their bottles ready. This time I fed Haseya and Ajie fed Tsé.

After Haseya had taken about two ounces, she refused her bottle, and wouldn’t drink anymore. I looked at Ajie and said, “I think Haseya has finished.”

“How much did she take?”, Ajie asked.

I looked at the bottle and said, “About two ounces.”

“She may be full.”, my mother said. “You’ll find that when they’re full that they’ll stop drinking.”

I stopped feeding Haseya and burped her.

While we’d been feeding the twins, our mothers had called home, talked to our fathers, and told them about the twins. I heard my mother-in-law say, “Fred, you won’t believe how cute the twins are.”

Ajie said, “Mom, you might want to have dad warn Bill and Bridget about the possibility of sleeping in the hogan out here.”

“Did you hear her, Fred?”, Ajie’s mother said. “Yes, tell them about staying in the hogan.”

We kept the twins out in the big room for a while, we both rocked them, and they were both quickly asleep. Sat there and held them for a bit, then Ajie and I took them back to the master suite and tucked them in. And I heard Ajie whisper to them, “Welcome to your new home. I am so happy that you are here, my two little ones.”

I put my arm around her, looked down at the two sleeping babies, and whispered, “Are you happy now, love?”

Ajie turned, looked at me, and whispered, “I’m very happy.”

I then walked over to the Kiva fireplace, picked up the three necklaces, each with the single meteorite, that had been on the mantel, and looked at them. I returned one of the necklaces to the mantel and then walked back over to the crib.

I handed one of the necklaces to Ajie and said, “This is for Haseya.”

Ajie took the necklace, looked at it, and said, “I’m not even going to ask how you knew that this one was for Haseya.”

“Don’t.”, I said. “Because I don’t have an answer. But, I also know that the one I have is for Tsé.”

I took the necklace that I had for Tsé and looked at it. The twins were too young to wear them, and there wasn’t a good place to hang them on the crib. Ajie saw me looking, and she said, “We still have a couple of the hangers that Mr. Yazzie made for us, and we could hang them on the wall.”

“How many do we have?”, I asked.

“Three.”

I looked at Ajie and said, “There’s that three again.”

“I know.”

I looked at her and nodded, yes. Then I said, “I was looking for something a little less permanent.”

“What if we put the hangers in the rooms that will theirs and hang the necklaces there until they can wear them.”

“I like that. And I’ll do that as soon as I can.”

“Maybe when Charlie and Jackie are back, we’ll have them up, and you can have him bring his drill.”

“Okay. I’ll put these necklaces back with the other one.”

I took the necklace back from Ajie and walked back over to the Kiva fireplace with the two necklaces and placed them with the third necklace. Then I thought, ‘Why the third necklace?’

When we were back out into the big room, Ajie's mom said, “Why don’t you kids let Kai’s mom and me take care of them next time. That’ll give you a chance to rest a little.”

“Mom, we’re doing fine.”, Ajie said.”

“I know, honey, just realize that you’ll be up with them a couple of times at night for about the next four to six weeks.”

“You’re right. They’re all yours the next time around.”

Ajie and I had just started dinner when we heard from the two newest members of the family. And our mothers went and took care of them, while Ajie and I heated their bottles.

Ajie’s mom was quickly back in the kitchen, and Ajie asked, “Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, honey.”, Ajie’s mother said. “But, do you have any baking soda?”

“Baking soda?”

“A cup of it in the bottom of the diaper pail will help control the odor.”

“Oh. There’s a big box in the pantry. I’ll get it for you.”

“No, keep cooking. I’ll find it.”

I won’t bore you with all the diaper changes and feedings that went on, and it appears that the twins were on a three-hour schedule. We premade bottles for them, which helped a whole bunch.

That first night was interesting. I don’t think either Ajie or I slept much. Most of the time, we were lying there listening for the twins to do something. When they did wake up at night and want to be fed or changed, we kept them in the bedroom. And while Ajie started changing the one that was the fussiest. I would go and start warming their bottles, then come back and change the other one. Ajie would go and grab the bottles. And we sat side by side on the bed and fed them. When they were both full and happy, we’d put them back to bed. I think that this would be our routine for the next few months.

That first night, the twins had us up at two and a little after five. After the five o’clock feeding, Ajie and I just put on our robes and stayed up. Besides, both of our mothers were up. Ajie’s mother asked, “So how did the first night go?”

“Not bad.”, Ajie replied. “They only had us up twice. And this time, we just stayed up.”

“Except, I don’t think either of us slept well.”, I said. “I think both of us were listening for the kids.”

My mother smiled, “You’re going to do that for a while. Then you’ll learn what their various sounds mean.”

“You think?”

“You will.”

We fixed breakfast for the four of us. And as we were eating, I said, “I think I’m going to run into town and see if I can find a chest of drawers or something for the diapers.”

“Good idea.”, Ajie said. “Or we’re going to have a mess.”

My stop at the used furniture store proved fruitful, I found a small chest of drawers. It even fit in the trunk of the car. I told you that it was small. As I was driving home, I drove past the hardware/outdoor store, and they had many Christmas trees. And I’d bet that they had all the trimmings too. We’re going to have to do something about a tree soon. Real soon.

When I was home, mom and mom were feeding the twins, so I took the small chest of drawers into the house and to the master suite. Ajie followed me. After we’d put the chest of drawers into the walk-in closet, and it fit perfectly, Ajie and I loaded the drawers with diapers.

As we were stocking the chest of drawers, I told Ajie about what I saw when I drove past the hardware/outdoor store. And she asked, “Where do you think we should put the tree?”

“I was thinking in the corner of the big room by the kitchen. It might block the one door off the entryway, but we seldom use that door.”

Tomorrow my mother was heading back to Columbus, so I was taking her to the airport early in the morning. That meant that Ajie and I had a nice dinner for her. Of course we were disturbed by the twins in the middle of dinner. They wanted dinner too. So they ate with us. Or at least they took their bottles as Ajie, and I tried to eat.

Thursday morning, we were up early, and after taking care of the twins, we had a quick breakfast. As we were saying so long to my mother, we all walked into the master suite, and the twins were sound asleep. My mother kissed Tsé on the forehead and whispered, “So long, my little grandson. I’ll see you soon.”

Then she went over to Haseya, kissed her on the forehead, and whispered, “So long, my little granddaughter. I’ll also see you soon.”

Neither of the twins even moved when she kissed them, and we quietly walked out of the master suite. Then Ajie said so long to my mother, as did Ajie’s mother.

As we drove to the airport, my mother said, “Those two children are just so precious. And cute beyond belief.”

“I know, mom.”, I said. I was amazed when I first saw them.”

“So was I, honey. Have you met or seen the mother or father?”

“Just the mother. And she was the girl that I helped when she had the horseback riding accident. And when I saw her, she was pretty well banged up.”

“So, you helped her?”

“Well, I feel that I helped the Yei spirits help her.”

“Was this before she was pregnant?”

“Yes, well before.”

“I wonder.”, my mother said.

“You’re wondering if the spirits are working in strange ways.”, I said. “Aren’t you?”

“Yes. Are you?”

“I have for some time. This girl, the mother of the twins, has an accident. Her parents remembered me and Ajie from the gathering last year. They see Ajie at the hospital and ask that I help their daughter. I agree to it. I see the girl, and she makes a quick recovery. Then we find out that we can’t have children. We apply to the children services people to adopt. And someplace during all of this, the girl becomes pregnant. Then we’re told about her wanting to put the twins up for adoption but wants to keep them together. And we decide to adopt the twins even knowing about the girl.”

“What does your medicine man friend have to say about all of this?”

“Naainish. I haven’t said anything to him about it yet. And he hasn’t said anything either. And that’s strange. He has a habit of talking about something before I say anything about it. So that’s also strange.”

“I see.”, my mother said.

“So, are the spirits moving in strange ways?”, I asked.

“It’s possible.”

“But why?”

“I have no idea.”

“Maybe we’ll never know.”

I walked into the airport with my mother. She checked in at the airline counter and dropped off her bag. Then we walked down the concourse to her gate and found seats. We sat and waited for her flight to be called.

As they called her flight, we stood and hugged. And I said, “See you in four days.”

“Yeah.”, my mother said. “It seems silly. Doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does.”

I walked with her to the gate to the tarmac, we hugged again, and she boarded the airplane. I went up on the observation deck and watched as her plane taxied to the runway and took off. I walked back through the airport and to my car. Then I drove over to the university.

After I’d parked in the faculty lot, I walked to the engineer college’s office. And it was just eight o’clock as I walked into the office. Sara looked up and said, “Well, have the twins arrived?”

“Yes, on Tuesday.”, I said.

“Any pictures.”

As I dug my wallet out of my purse, I said, “Yes.” I showed Sara the pictures, and she said, “They were just born when these were taken. Weren’t they?”

“Yes, they were only an hour or two old when they took these.”

“They are so cute.”

The other secretary walked over, looked at the pictures, and said, “They are cute.”

“Thanks.”, I said.

Then I heard Dean Rutherford say, “I understand congratulations are in order, Miss Nez.”

I looked at him and said, “Thank you, sir.”

“When will we see you again?”

“When the quarter begins.”

“That’s good.”

“I hope it will be.”

“It will.”

“I walked over and checked my mailbox and nothing. And as I walked out of the office, I wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And they did the same to me.

Then I went up to the office. The light was on, so Dr. Joe should be there. And as I opened the door, he looked up and started to say, “Hey! Don’t you knock … Oh. Hi, Kai.”

“Hi, Dr. Joe.”, I said. “I didn’t know I had to knock to enter my own office.”

“I didn’t think I’d see you until winter quarter started, at least on campus.”

“I just dropped my mother off at the airport. And I figured that I’d stop in to see what’s going on.”

“Not much. Except that by you wearing the clothes that you did while teaching last quarter, some of the colleges have decided to relax their dress code a little bit.”

“That’s interesting. What colleges?”, I asked.

“Ours for one, the Colleges of Education, Fine Arts, and Nursing.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Ajie will be happy.”

“But, I’ll bet that you’re going to mess with her.”

“Who me?”, I said with a smile.

“Yes, you, Miss Nez.”

As I showed the pictures to Dr. Joe, he asked, “When can we come over to see these two.”

“Maybe this evening. Let me talk to Ajie, and we’ll see. They’re sleeping a lot, so you may not see too much of them.”

“Okay, let us know.”

“Will do.”

I headed home, and I got there just in time to change a diaper and feed Tsé as Ajie took care of Haseya.

As we were feeding the twins, Ajie told me that Mrs. Biakeddy had called, and we can put the money from the state in a trust fund for the twins.

Then I told Ajie about Dr. Joe wanting to come over and see the twins. And she said, “Sure. They may only see sleeping babies.”

“Then I said, “What about Chief Tom and Vickie, and Charlie and Jackie?”

“Charlie and Jackie went home for Christmas.”

“I forgot.”

“But we can call Chief Tom and Vickie, and see if they want to come over. Maybe at the same time as Dr. Joe and Mary come.”

“How would five work?”, I asked.

“That works.”. Ajie said.

We called our friends, and they were coming over around five.

Then as Ajie's mother, Ajie, and I ate lunch, I said, “I guess the clothes that I wore last quarter to teach in were accepted. And some of the colleges are going to relax their dress code for faculty.”

“Really!”, Ajie said. “What colleges?”

“Engineering, Education, and Fine Arts.”

“That’s it?”

“I guess.”

“Kai! You’ve got that sneaky smile.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Oh, yes, you do.”

“Yeah. And nursing.”

“You brat. You’ll pay.”, Ajie said.

“Think we should go get a Christmas tree?”, I asked.

“Hmm. Trying to change the subject. But we probably should.”

“Why don’t you two run and get a tree.”, Ajie’s mom said. “And I’ll take care of the twins. They were just changed and fed, so they’ll be fine for a couple of hours.”

Ajie and I did run over to the hardware/outdoor store. And we found a beautiful tree, plus a stand, lights, a star tree topper, silver and gold garland, and an assortment of ornaments. We even got a wreath with a red ribbon for the front gate. The fun part was getting the Christmas tree home. We put a blanket on the roof of the car, and with the help of someone from the store, we tied the tree on the roof of the car.

The drive home was a careful one. On the way, I told Ajie about the talk my mother and I had about the twin's birth mother, her accident, me, and the Yei spirits.

“What did you’re mother think?”, Ajie asked.

“The usual thing with the spirits.”

“That they work in strange ways.”

“Yes, and that I should talk to Naainish.”

Once we were home, Ajie helped me take the tree off the car and carry it to the back courtyard. The people at the hardware/outdoor store had cut the bottom two inches off of the tree trunk. And remembering what my dad had always done, we set the tree into a bucket of water. And we’d wait until Saturday to set up and decorate the tree. Then Ajie hung the wreath on the gate to the front courtyard.

Then we went into the house just in time to help Ajie’s mother with the twins. I haven’t figured out yet which of the twins has the stinkiest diapers, but it’s a close race. And as she always did, Ajie sang to them.

As we were feeding the twins, my mother-in-law said, “You know, these two wake up at about the same time. And with three of us here, they are used to everything happening to the two of them at the same time.

“But if there is only one of us here, we’d only be able to work on them one at a time. We need to show the twins that there will be times when one gets changed, then the other one. And the same with feedings.”

“That’ll be fun to do.”, I said. “But, I can see it being necessary.”

“So can I.”, Ajie said. “And it would make it easier all the way around.”

After we had the twins down for a nap, Ajie and I straightened up the house. Then at about four-thirty, we heard a ding. It sounded like our friends were here. Ajie and I started for the front door, and just as we got there, we heard the ding-dong. We opened the front doors, and we saw all four of our friends, Chief Tom, Vickie, Dr. Joe, and Mary.

Ajie and I together said, “Yá’át’ééh. T'áá shoodí wóshde´e´’. - (It is good. Please come in.)”

Chief Tom said, “We decided to come together.”

“Good.”, I said. “It doesn’t matter how you got here. It’s just important that you’re here.”

I saw Dr. Joe eye the doorbell pull, so I said, “Go on, pull it.”

And he pulled it. And of course, we heard the bell. Then there were hugs and handshakes all around. Hmm, was I feeling something? Yes, I was.

We all walked into the house, and Ajie reintroduced her mother and our friends. We sat in the big room, and Ajie took drink orders. Her mother had made coffee, so everyone but Ajie and I were going to have coffee. Ajie and I were drinking ice tea. As Ajie and I were putting the drinks together, I said, “Think I should tell Mary?”

“Tell Mary what?”, Ajie asked.

“That she’s pregnant.”

“What!?”

“Uh huh.”

“I’ll leave that up to you.”

We took the drinks into the big room, and the seven of us were able to talk and enjoy our drinks for about half an hour. During that half-hour, Chief Tom took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to me. And I asked, “What’s this?”

“It’s something from your group of friends. We didn’t know what you needed, so we got you a gift certificate to the baby shop downtown.”

“So, you guys didn’t get us a playpen?”

“No. Why?”

“One was delivered here, and it came with a card that was just signed, your friends at the university.”

“Wasn’t us.”

I opened the card and looked at the gift certificate, which was signed by all six of our close friends. Then I handed it to Ajie. Ajie looked at it and said, “Guys, this is too much. Especially after all you’ve done.”

“Honey.”, Vickie said. “I wish we could do more for you.”

Both Ajie and I shook our heads and said, “Thank you so much.”

Then we finally began to hear noises over the baby monitor.

Everyone smiled as we started hearing the two little ones begin to cry. Ajie and her mom went back to check on them and change their diapers, and I warmed up the bottles. A short time later, Ajie and her mom came out from the master suite carrying two hungry little ones. Ajie handed Haseya to Vickie and said, “Vickie, this is Haseya.”

Vickie looked down at Haseya and said, “Well, hello, Miss Haseya.”

Then Amy took Tsé from her mom, and as she handed him to Mary, she said, “And, Mary, this is Tsé.”

Mary looked at him and said, “Hello, Tsé. You and Mark are going to be good friends.”

Then Ajie took the two bottles from me and handed one to Vickie and one to Mary. And the twins chowed down. Vickie looked up and said, “They are so cute. And those dark eyes are amazing.”

Mary then said, “Not to mention the amount of black hair they have. And they take a bottle well.”

“Knock on wood.”, Ajie said. “So far they’ve been good babies.”

As Vickie and Mary fed the twins, Dr. Joe said, “Show me this stereo system of yours.”

“You’ve got a stereo?”, Chief Tom said.

“We bought ourselves an early Christmas present. Let’s wait until the twins go down for a nap.”

“It’s alright honey.”, Ajie said. “The twins like music. Just don’t turn it up.”

As I got up, I said, “They do like your singing. So they should like the stereo. Come on, you two.”

I took Chief Tom and Dr. Joe over to the cabinet with the stereo components in it and showed it to them. On seeing the tuner and amplifier, Dr. Joe said, “I’m impressed, Fisher equipment and Wharfedale speakers. Very nice.”

“Thanks. I was tempted to build a Heathkit system, but I didn’t think I’d have time to do it.”

“Let’s hear it.”, Chief Tom said.

I turned the volume down on the amplifier, then turned the tuner and amplifier on. Then I gradually turned up the volume. The tuner was still set to the university’s FM station, and it was currently playing classical music. Dr. Joe then said, “It sounds really nice.”

Then I uncovered the turntable, and Chief Tom said, “Nice turntable.”

“Thanks.”, I said. “We don’t have any records yet.”

“There’s a place in Santa Fe that has both new and used records of all kinds.”, Dr. Joe said.

“We’re going to have to go there one day.”

The twins got sleepy, so Ajie, Vickie, Mary, and Ajie’s mom took the twins back to the master suite. When they were gone, Dr. Joe said, “I’ll tell you two a little secret. We’re trying to have a baby.”

I looked at Dr. Joe and grinned. He looked at me and said, “Kai, do you know something?”

I just shrugged my shoulders.

“Kai!”

“Let it put it this way.”, I said. “When you four walked into the house. I felt five spirits besides Ajie’s and mine. Then when I hugged Mary, I felt two spirits.”

“Did you tell her?”

“No.”

“Tell us what?”, we heard Ajie say as she, her mother, Vickie, and Mary walked back into the big room.

“Our secret is out, Mary.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Kai knows doesn’t she?”, Mary said.

“She knew as soon as we walked into the house.”

“Knew what?”, Vickie asked.

“That we’re trying to have another baby and that I may be pregnant.”, Mary replied.

“No maybe about it, Mary.”, I said.

“Joe, did she tell you if it was a boy or a girl?”

“No, she didn’t.”, Dr. Joe said.

“I don’t tell unless mom asks.”, I said.

Mary looked at me and said, “I’m asking.”

“I felt a very strong male spirit.”

“A boy!?”

“Yes, a boy. Congratulations.”

Everyone congratulated Dr. Joe and Mary.

I’d been looking at Ajie’s mother, and I saw a questioning look. So I asked, “Mom, do you have a question?”

“I guess I do.”, Ajie’s mother said. “I just don’t understand this and how easily your friends accept it.”

“Mom, I don’t completely understand it either. I know it’s part of being a Nádleeh or two spirit person. But as I’ve been told that I can see things, I can feel things, I can know things that I have no way of knowing, yet I know.

“But I know that I can feel the spirits in certain people. People who are related to me. Like you and Ajie. I can also feel the spirits of people who are close to me, like, Dr. Joe, Mary, Chief Tom, and Vickie. And it doesn’t hurt that three of them are native Americans. And our people have accepted this for many years.

“And I know that you know that I’ve done this before starting with my Cousin Mary and her twins.

“Does that make sense, mom?”

“I guess it does.”, Ajie’s mother said.

“Mom.”, Ajie said. “I’ve been with Kai through all of this. Some of it, I understand. Some of it I don’t. And there are times that she even surprises me.”

Ajie’s mother just nodded, yes.

Our friends stayed a little longer, and as they were leaving, Vickie said to Ajie, “Ajie remember that any time you're ready to do your dissertation just let me know.”

“I will Vickie.”, Ajie replied.

“And that goes for you too, Miss Kai Nez.”, Dr. Joe said.

“I know. As soon as things settle down after Christmas, I’ll get on it.”, I replied.

Ajie and I walked to the front courtyard gate with our friends and said, “Hágoónee' t'áá ájíltso. - (See you later all people [everyone].)” to them.

As we walked back into the house, Ajie’s mother said, “You have some wonderful friends.”

“Thanks, mom.”, Ajie said. “And we’re so happy that we do.”

As Ajie and I were crawling into bed after finishing with the twins eleven o’clock feeding, Ajie whispered, “My Prince, when are we going to have another tryst?”

“My Queen.”, I whispered. “With the King and his consort sleeping in the next bed, if we should awaken him, he will cry out for his guards.”

“My Prince, I feel that we can be as quiet as a mouse.”