On Friday, we’d taken the twins on their first trip. We took them up to the resort. The twins had traveled well on the two-hour drive, and they liked seeing Aunt Ruth and Uncle Paul.

After breakfast on Saturday, I’d gone out to the remote hogan. No, Naainish wasn’t there. But, I figured that he might have spent the night. I spent the morning in quiet thought and did come up with some ideas.

I was back at my aunt and uncle’s house for lunch. And Naainish was there. As we ate, Naainish asked me to go and visit someone in Taos with him. This usually means that someone is dying or very sick. And that I may know them. And I did know them. It was Dibe Bylilly’s grandmother, Mosi Tabaaha.

When Naainish and I were at the hospital in Taos to see Mrs. Tabaaha, we’d found Dibe, her fiance Hal, and Dibe’s parents. They took us to see Mrs. Tabaaha, and I’d sat and talked with her. I felt that she was going to be okay. Then Naainish and I had chanted. Finally, I’d told the family what I felt, and that was that Mrs. Tabaaha would be fine.

Later, when Naainish and I were back at the resort, my aunt and uncle took had taken Ajie, the twins, and me to the resort’s restaurant. That had started out really nice until one of the guests got mouthy with Ajie about her being an Indian and the twins being in the restaurant. Then I’d gotten involved. Then Uncle Paul had gotten involved. Then one of the room clerks, Shilah, who is also a member of the Navajo Nation’s Police Department, had gotten into the middle of it. And that had gotten the guy escorted off the resort’s property. I had always hoped that the twins would never see something like this.

Ajie and I were up with the twins at six on Sunday morning, and after we’d fed them, we’d put them back to bed, and Ajie and I stayed up. Later as we were getting the twins up, Aunt Ruth was also getting up, and she said, yá’át’ééh abiní – (good morning) to the twins. We put the twins in the playpen, and as I found something on the TV for them to listen to, Ajie helped Aunt Ruth with breakfast.

We just hung around the house, visiting with my aunt and uncle. And we even got Uncle Paul to feed Tsé. Ajie took a picture of it. And I said, “I think we need to get Mr. Bylilly to publish that on the front page of the Navajo Times.”

Uncle Paul just glared at me. I grinned.

Then my aunt asked, “How do you think the twins did here. In a strange bed and room.”

“I think they were fine with it.”, Ajie said. “It was just like we were at home.”

“So, you might come and visit us more?”

“I don’t know why not.”

Shortly after lunch, Ajie, the twins, and I said hágoónee' - (see you later) to my aunt and uncle and headed home. Right after we left the resort, I asked, “Do you think that we dare make a stop on the way home?”

“Want to see the Eagles.”, Ajie said. “Don’t you?”

“Don’t you?

“Of course.”

“We could just park in the parking lot and not hike to the nest site.”

“I’ll bet they’d find us.”

“I know that would.”

“You don’t suppose that they have eggs?”

“I doubt it. We were into February last year when they did.”

“Let’s do it. We can just sit in the car.”

So, we made a little detour to the Jemez Canyon Reservoir, where the Eagle’s nest is. The backseat travelers were quiet for the whole ride. As we pulled into the reservoir parking area, no one else was here. Who else in their right mind would be here at the end of January in thirty-degree weather. At least there wasn’t any wind.

As I parked, I looked towards where the nest site was, and nothing. Then Ajie pointed, and said, “Look!”

I looked towards where she was pointing and saw an Eagle soaring over the reservoir. And I said, “Good. They’re still here.”

“There’s the other one.”, Ajie said as she pointed towards the nest site.

And sure enough, there was the other adult Eagle. I looked at Ajie and said, “Let’s get out.”

“What about the twins?”

“Think we should get them out? I know that their eyes aren’t developed enough to be able to see the Eagles, but the Eagles will see them.”

Ajie thought for a couple of seconds, then said, “Let’s do it.”

Ajie and I got out of the car. Then Ajie made sure that Haseya was all bundled up, then took her out of her car seat. And I did the same with Tsé.

We walked over to the picnic table and sat facing the reservoir. Then we watched as the Eagles flew close to us then circled us a few times. They were blessing the twins and us.

It was too cold to sit there for very long, so we took the twins back to the car, and put them back in their seats, then we got in the car, and I started it. But before I went to drive out of the parking lot, I said, “Honey, would you mind if I make a quick trip to the nest site.”

“Why?”, Ajie asked.

“I’m not sure. I just feel that I should.”

“Go on. But don’t be too long. It’ll be time to feed the twins by the time we get home.”

“I know. It only takes half an hour to get home from here.”

I got out of the car, almost ran to the nest site, and I was back quickly. As I got in the car, I handed Ajie two Eagle tail feathers. She took them and asked, “Where did you find these?”

“They were at the base of the tree where the nest is.”

“How did you know that they were there?”

“I didn’t. Something drew me to them. And they’re for the twins.”

“I kind of figured that.”

“I think we need to put them with their spirit catchers and meteorite necklaces.”

“I kind of figured that too.”

We left the parking lot and headed home. Then just as we turned onto our road, we heard from the backseat passengers. Mr. Fussy and Miss Fussy were getting hungry.

Monday, after I taught my classes, I went to the office, and as I walked in, I said, “Good morning, Dr. Joe.”

“Good morning, Kai.”, Dr. Joe replied. “How was your weekend?”

“All in all, it was good. The twins enjoyed the trip and seeing their aunt and uncle.”

“Did your quiet time at the resort do you any good?”

“Oh yes.”, I said. “I’ve got some ideas to work on. But first, I have something to do.”

Then I walked over the file cabinet and removed the documentation and my notes. I carried them over to the work table, opened my notes, removed a page, crumpled it up, and tossed it into the trash can.

Dr. Joe had watched me and asked, “What was that?”

“The block diagram that I drew last week.”, I replied.

“You’re throwing it away?”

“Won’t work.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep. It was one of the first things that I figured out on Saturday. And I’ve got a few things that I want to look into that will lead us to what we need to build.”

“So, more reading?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Yep.”, I replied. “More reading.”

“Want to get lunch first?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Yes.”, I replied.

Dr. Joe and I went to the faculty dining room, and as we were eating, I told him about Naainish having me accompany him to see Mrs. Tabaaha.

“Doesn’t he do that when someone is dying?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Sometimes.”, I replied. “But this time she wasn’t, but I figured out what her problem might be. And she might already be in the hospital here in Albuquerque. Ajie’s going to call and check on her.”

“So you know this Mrs. Tabaaha?”

“Do you remember the girl who we gave the first scholarship to?”

“Yes, the girl that’s a dancer.”, Dr. Joe replied

“Yes, Mrs. Tabaaha is her grandmother.”, I said.

“So, did anything else happen, or did you just spend the rest of the weekend at the hogan?”

“I wish.”, I said sarcastically.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“It wasn’t.” And I went on to tell Dr. Joe about what had happened with the guy in the hotel’s restaurant.

Dr. Joe looked at me for a few seconds, then he said, “Kai, you’ve had more than your share of run-ins with people like this. But, I’ve had a couple too.”

“Didn’t you live on a reservation?”

“Yes, but we didn’t stay there. There was a town nearby, and we’d go there. But we were treated like second class citizens.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I also had problems when I went away to college.”

“That was the University of Minnesota.”. I asked. “Wasn’t it?”

“Yes, I had so many problems that I almost dropped out.”, Dr. Joe said. And he went on to tell me about some of the things that happened to him. And I told him some of the things that happened to Ajie and me that he didn’t know about.

Then Dr. Joe said, “Then I was lucky enough to talk to my cousin, the one that’s two spirit like you. And I told him that I was thinking of dropping out of college and why. He sat me down, and we had a long talk. One of the things that he told me was that I was stronger than that. And that dropping out would only hurt me and that I could do good things. So I needed to ignore the people that were giving me problems, and complete my degree.

“Once I completed my bachelor's degree. I saw the possibilities to go further and did.”

“I’m happy that you didn’t drop out, Dr. Joe.”, I said. “If you had, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now. And I may not be doing what I’m doing right now. And I’d have missed out making a good friend.”

“And, I would have missed out meeting you and Ajie, and working with you.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Ajie helped me learn a long time ago that I shouldn’t let people get to me. And I should feel good about myself, so now I stand up for myself, Ajie, and the twins.”

“And you do that very well.”, Dr. Joe said.

“I’ve hoped that the twins would never see anything like we have.”, I said.

“Kai, unfortunately, they probably will, and so will my boy. But you can teach them how to handle it like you do, with words and actions if necessary.”

“You’re right.”

We finished our lunch and then went back to the office. I did read and make 
notes, and sketched a few ideas.

When I was home, and after greeting Ajie, I first picked Tsé up out of the playpen, gave him a little kiss on his forehead, and said, “Shiyáázh, Tsé. Ayóó' áníínísh'ní. - (My son, Tsé. I love you.)” Then I put him down, picked up Haseya, kissed her on the forehead, and said, “Shich’é’é, Haseya. Ayóó' áníínísh'ní. - (My daughter, Haseya. I love you.)”

As I put Haseya down in the playpen, I looked at Ajie, and she asked, “Did you have a rough day?”

“No.”, I answered. “Why?”

“I’ve never seen you do that before.”

“I just found out that Dr. Joe had things happen to him like we’ve had happen to us where people get irate because we're native Americans. And how close he came to not finishing his bachelor’s degree.”

“You’re kidding me?”

“No, he said that he experienced it from the time he was a young man and into college. Then he and his cousin had a good talk. And he got through the problems.”

“So, he almost didn’t finish college?”, Ajie asked.

“Yes. And now he might be an Assistant Dean of the Engineering College.”, I replied.

Shaking her head, Ajie said, “If he would have dropped out. Wow.”

“If he would have dropped out, you and I would probably not be here right now.”, I replied. 

“Yeah. It’s amazing how something happening to one person affects others.”

“I did call the hospital and Mrs. Tabaaha is there and doing good.”, Ajie said.

“That’s wonderful to hear.”, I replied.

After dinner, it was nice enough to take the twins for a walk. We walked down the road to where it intersected with the main road and back. Then we went back into the house, we put the twins in their playpen, and listened to music and read until it was time for bedtime.

The rest of the week was kind of normal. The twins were seven weeks old. I taught my classes and worked on the project. I did make some headway on the project and had a rough block diagram done and a sketch of a possible circuit.

Then on Friday, when I was back home, and Ajie and I were eating dinner, Ajie said, “We’re having company for dinner tomorrow.”

“Oh.”, I said, “Who?”

“Dr. Joe and Mary, Chief Tom and Vickie, and Charlie and Jackie.”

“When did this all come about.”

“Vickie called to chat, and then she asked if we were going to be home Saturday. And I told her that we’d didn’t have anything planned. And she said that it had been too long since our group of friends had gotten together. And I agreed with her and asked what she had in mind.

“She told me that they’d like to come up on Saturday and that they’d bring dinner if we’d furnish the drinks. And I told her that it sounds like fun. So, they’ll be here at five.”

“Sounds like fun.”, I said. “What are they bringing for dinner?”

“Pizza from Nunzio's.”, Ajie replied.

“That makes it even better.”

Taking the twins for a walk has become a regular thing for us, weather permitting. And you could tell that the twins loved it. And tonight was no exception. It was a short walk around the backyard and the house. But Ajie talked about a dessert for tomorrow night. I suggested cinnamon crisps and fruit salad.

On Saturday morning, Ajie went shopping for fresh fruit. Good luck. And I watched the twins. The twins and I had fun, I read to them, played with them, and we listened to music.

I had just put the twins in their playpen and had the mobile going for them when we heard the ding from the driveway sensor, so I said, “That must be mommy. I’ll be right back.”

I walked to the door between the house and garage, just as Ajie was getting out of the car. I walked over and asked, “Any luck?”

“Yes.”, Ajie replied. “I even found the cinnamon crisps at the bakery in the grocery store, and they also had most of the fruit that I wanted. And they told me where I might find the other things that I wanted. So, all we have to do is prepare the fruit. Plus, I picked up the makings for sangria.

“How are the twins?”

“They’re fine.”, I said. “I’ve read to them, played with them, and we’ve listened to some music as I cleaned the kitchen. They even had some belly time.”

Ajie handed me a couple of bags to carry into the house, and we went to the kitchen. Then Ajie walked over to the playpen, looked down at twins, smiled, and said happily, “I’m home.”

The twins got excited. Well, they got as excited as seven-week-old babies can get seeing mommy.

After lunch, Ajie and I made some sangria and put together the fruit salad for dessert. Then we worked on straightening up the house, which didn’t take long. Of course, the twins got our undivided attention from time to time.

Just before five, we heard two dings from the sensor in the driveway. Ajie picked up Haseya, and I picked up Tsé, and we walked to the front door. Just as we got there, we heard the ding-dong from the front gate, and I opened the front door. We watched as our six friends walked across the front courtyard. Charlie and Dr. Joe were each carrying two large pizza boxes. And Jackie was carrying a small bag. Anchovies?

As they walked up on the front porch, they got the usual, “Yá’át’ééh. T'áá shoodí wóshde´e´’. - (It is good. Please come in.)” from Ajie and me.

Chief Tom, replied with a “Yá’át’ééh alní'íní - (Good evening.)”

Everyone else said, “Hi, guys.” or “Hello.”

Of course, Dr. Joe had to pull the doorbell cord.

And everyone said hi to Tsé and Haseya.

As everyone walked into the big room, Mary saw the cradleboards leaning against the wall and said, “Ajie, I see you have dikinaaganans. – (Ojibwa for cradleboards.) Do you use them?”

Ajie asked, “Dikinaaganans?”

“Sorry, cradleboards.”

“Yes, and we use them. We take them for short walks in the neighborhood or around the yard. And we use them when we went to the doctors for their first checkup.” 

“Do they like it?”

“They appear to.”

“Good.”

Then we took the pizzas, set them on the breakfast counter, and checked them. Luckily Ajie had preheated the oven, so two at a time, we popped the pizzas into the oven for a few minutes to heat them a little. Then with them back on the breakfast counter, we each chose what we wanted, and sat at the table. Ajie brought over a pitcher of sangria, and I took orders for those that didn’t want alcohol. Like Mary, who is pregnant and got pop. Jackie dug her stinky little fish out of the bag that she’d brought with her, and put some on her plate. Chief Tom saw the anchovies, and asked, “Jackie, I haven’t had anchovies for a long time. Would you mind if I had a few?”

“No, Chief Tom, go on.”, Jackie said. “There’s more than enough.”

As we sat at the dining room table eating pizza, we told everyone about what we’d been doing. One thing Ajie asked Mary was, “Mary, when did Mark start sleeping through the night?”

“He was twelve weeks old when he did.”, Mary replied.

“Well, these two are just seven weeks, so it could be a while before they sleep through the night.”

“Or, you could get lucky.”

“Let’s hope.”

Then Jackie and Charlie filled us in on their classes, and that they were both doing well. Then Chief Tom said, “I’m going to start on my master winter quarter.”

“That’s great.”, I said. “What brought this on?”

“You and Ajie. Plus, Vickie was prodding me.”

We talked some more. Then Dr. Joe said, “I have an announcement.”

“What’s that Dean Oshie?”, I asked.

Dr. Joe just sat back in his chair, frowned at me for a few seconds, and he finally asked, “How did you know that it was official, Miss Kai Nez?”

“Oh. I put two and two together and came up with five.”

“Only you would come up with five.”

“Care to tell the rest of us?”, Vickie asked.

“They’ve created two new positions in the Dean’s office of the School of Engineering. They’re assistant dean positions, and they offered me one.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“Did you accept it?”, I asked.

“No, I’m still thinking about it.”, Dr. Joe said.

“I hope that you’re just kidding us.”

“Nope. I’m just not sure.”

“Dr. Joe, if you didn’t accept it, I’m going to change the lock on the office door.”

“You’d do that wouldn’t you?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“In a heartbeat.”, I replied.

“Got ya, Kai. Don’t worry, I accepted it.”

“Dr. Joe! I mean Dean Joe. No. That doesn’t sound right. Dr. Joe. Yes, that’s better. Congratulations. And it’s well deserved.”

Everyone else congratulated Dr. Joe.

“So.”, Vickie asked. “What are the two dean’s positions?”

“I'll be over the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, and the Computer Science Department. And the other assistant dean will be over the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, and the Nuclear Engineering Department.”

“Any idea who the other assistant dean is?”, I asked.

“No, but there’s a guy in the Nuclear Engineering Department that would be good. But, we’ll know on Monday when they make it official.”

Then Charlie said, “I go from a farm boy with typical friends to a college student hanging with a bunch of academic types.”

“Is that a bad thing?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“No. Because we’re all good friends.”
 
“That we are.”, Ajie said.

As Chief Tom stood, he picked up his glass and said, “A toast.”

Everyone picked up their glasses.

Then Chief Tom continued with, “A toast to good friends, to the new Assistant Dean, Joe Oshie, and officially to the new PhD, Ajie Nez.”

Everyone lifted their glass and said, “Here, here.”

Shortly the two little ones were heard from. And as Ajie and I started to get up, Jackie also got up and said, “Kai, stay here. I’ll help Ajie.”

I said, “Have fun.”

“I will.”, Jackie said as she followed Ajie.

I still got up and fixed bottles for the little guys. Ajie carrying Haseya and Jackie carrying Tsé were back in a short time. And as they walked up to the table, Vickie reached out and said, “Ajie, let me have Haseya.”

Ajie gave Haseya to Vickie, then she took the bottles from me, and gave one to Vickie and one to Jackie. And Vickie and Jackie sat there and fed the twins. And everyone talked. At one point, Dr. Joe said, “Kai, rumor has it that they’re looking at the fourteenth for you to defend your dissertation.”

“When will I know for sure?”, I asked.

“You should know by the Friday of the week before.”

“That’ll be almost four weeks since they received it.”

“That’s about right.”, Vickie said.

Everyone was here when the twins went to bed about nine, and then they stayed until a little after ten. As we were saying hágoónee' - (see you later) to everyone, we received hugs and handshakes. And we walked out to the courtyard gate with everyone.

After the cars disappeared down the driveway, Ajie and I went back into the house. And I locked the front doors. We cleaned up the dishes, and the remaining pizza was put in the refrigerator. We then poured ourselves a glass of sangria, cuddle on the couch, and listened to the radio.

Ajie said, “We’re lucky to have friends like we do.”

“We are.”, I said. “They run the gambit from young college students to older leaders of the university.”

“And it’s interesting to listen to them and how their ideas complement each other.”

“It is. And it surprises me as to how well Charlie and Jackie fit in. And even us. We’re not that much older than Charlie and Jackie.”

“True.”

We didn’t go to bed but stayed up until we heard the twins at about midnight. As Ajie started changing them, I closed up the house, heated up a couple of bottles, and then helped Ajie feed them. We put the twins to bed, and then we went to bed.

Sunday was Sunday. We did some household chores. And that included doing laundry and restocking the firewood in the big room and the master suite. And it was a good day to listen to the records I’d bought. We also played with the twins and spent time reading in front of a nice fire. I also figured out how to mount the Eagle feathers with the twin's meteorite necklaces and spirit catchers, and did that. And it was nice enough after dinner to take the twins for a walk.

It’s funny with the twins now here, how our lives revolve around them.

Monday after I’d taught my classes, I went down to the Engineering College’s office to check my mail. As usual, there was a stack of the university’s daily paper, The Daily Lobo, on a table outside the office. I picked one up, and on the front page was the announcement of the two Assistant Dean’s in the Engineering College, with two pictures. There was a picture of Dr. Joe and of a Dr. Timothy Lewis, who I’ve never met, and who is the other new Assistant Dean.

As I walked into the college offices, the Dean was standing there talking to someone. Sara saw me and said, “Good morning, Miss Nez.”

The only time that Sara calls me Miss Nez is when there’s someone important in the office. I replied, “Good morning, Sara.”

The Dean saw me, and said, “Miss Nez, good, I’d like you to meet Dr. Lewis, he’s one of the new Assistant Deans.”

The man turned, looked at me, and smiled. Then Dean Rutherford said, “Dean Lewis, I’d like you to meet Miss Kai Nez. She’s an instructor and a Research Associate, and works closely with Dean Oshie.”

I reached out my right hand, he took it, and I was feeling good things about him. Then as we shook hands, Dr. Lewis said, “I’ve heard many good things about you, Miss Nez. And it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Thank you, Dean Lewis.”, I replied. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too.”

“I was impressed by what you did with the Apollo launch.”

“Thank you. It was a fun thing to do. And it felt good to be a part of it.”

“I understand that you’re also a doctoral candidate.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, good luck.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“We have a meeting.”, Dean Rutherford said. “So, you’ll have to excuse us, Miss Nez.”

“That’s okay, Dean.”, I replied. “And it’s been a real pleasure, Dean Lewis.”

“Yes, it has, Miss Nez.”, Dean Lewis said.

As they walked back towards Dean Rutherford’s office, I heard Dean Lewis quietly say, “She’s young for a doctoral candidate.”

“She may be young.”, Dean Rutherford said. “But it’s well deserved.”

After the two Deans had walked away, Sara said, “This is going to be interesting with the two Assistant Deans.”

“How so?”, I asked.

“More work for Jerry and me.”

“Hopefully, they’ll see that you need help and get you some.”

“I hope so.”

“I’ll put a bug in Dr. Oshie’s ear if you want me to.”

“I’ll let you know.”

I walked over, checked my mailbox, and nothing. So as I walked out of the office, I said, “See you later, Sara.”

“Have a good day, Kai.”, Sara replied.

As I walked up to the door to my office, I noticed something had changed on the door. The names on the door now said:

Dr. Joseph Oshie, Assistant Dean
 Kai Nez, Research Associate 

As I walked in, Dr. Joe said, “Good morning.”

I smiled as I said, “Good morning, Dean Oshie.”

“Let’s not go there.”

“Okay. Good morning, Dr. Joe.”

“That’s better. Let’s keep the dean thing for formal things.”

“I met Dean Lewis this morning.”

“Where?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“In the college office.”, I replied. “He was talking to Dean Rutherford. And he seems nice enough.”

“He is, and he’s driven to make things better.”

“It didn’t take them long to change the names on our door. But why the space in front of mine?”

“They did it the first thing this morning. And they left the space for what’s going to soon be in front of your name.”

“What’s that?”

“Doctor.”

“You hope.”

“I know.”

I walked over to the file cabinet and took out the things for the project, took them to the work table, and went to work. I started by reading over my notes and then looking at the circuit diagram that I’d done. And I went from there.

By the time I went home, I had the beginnings of a schematic diagram.

As I walked out of the engineering building, the cold hit me. The temperature had dropped since this morning, and it was snowing. I’m glad I was wearing my blanket coat. When I was home, there was about an inch of snow on the ground. A little unusual for the high desert, but it does happen. I can’t wait to have a snowball fight with the twins.

When I said hello to the twins, you could see the excitement in their eyes. But, there would be no walk with them after dinner. So, it was playtime instead of walk time.

The rest of the week was just about the same except that the snow was gone and things warmed up a bit. So, we were able to take the twins out for a couple of short walks.

I did finish the schematic of the circuit, but I was beginning to wonder how we were going to fit it into the dimensions that N.A.S.A. wanted. I’d also started building up the breadboard circuit.

Saturday morning, when we were up, the sky looked to be clear, but the Sun hadn’t made it over the Sandia Crest yet. We got the twins up at seven, then Ajie and I fixed our breakfast. As we were cleaning up the breakfast dishes, Ajie asked, “Any idea on how warm it’s supposed to get today?”

“Not really.”, I replied. “But, I’d guess with how clear the sky is and that there’s no wind, that it’ll warm-up. Why?”

“I was thinking of taking the twins for a walk along the river.”

“If we bundle them up, they should be fine.”

“So, after lunch?”

“That’ll work for me.”

After lunch, I walked out into the back courtyard, the Sun was bright, and it felt warm for February. When I went back into the house, I said, “Honey, it actually feels warm out there.”

“So are you up for a walk?”, Ajie asked.

“You bet.”

Both Ajie and I changed into our winter hiking clothes, long pants, boots with wool socks, and warm blouses. I took the cradleboards and put them in the car, then we bundled the twins up, put on our blanket coats, took the twins out to the car, and strapped them into their car seats, and we headed for the river trail parking lot.

As we pulled into the parking lot, it appeared that others had the same idea. There must have been twenty cars and also there were two trucks from the Park’s Department Police Department there. We unstrapped the twins from their car seats and strapped them into their cradleboards. Ajie was carrying Haseya, and I was carrying Tsé as we started north on the trail. 

We’d gone maybe a quarter of a mile when a couple coming the other way walked up to us, the woman looked at the cradleboards, and said, “Excuse me.”

We stopped, looked at them, and I said, “Yes.”

“I don’t mean to be nosy. But are they twins?”

“Yes, a boy and a girl.”

“Do they like being carried in those?”

“In the cradleboards, yes.”, Ajie said. “They feel very secure in them.”

“Could you turn around so that I can see them?”, the woman asked.

Ajie and I turned around. The couple looked at the twins, and the woman said, “I wish I’d had something like that when I had my twins.”

Ajie and I turned around, and Ajie said, “Did you have boys or girls?”

“Two girls. How old are your twins?”

“Just two months.”

“They're so cute.”

“Thank you.”

“Hopefully, we’ll see you again.”, the woman said as they started walking away.

“Maybe we will.”, I replied, and we headed further north.

We continued to walk until we reached the bench at about the one-mile point. We figured that this was far enough for the twins. We walked over to the bench and took the twins off of our backs. We checked them, and they appeared to be okay. Then we set the twins in their cradleboards on the bench so they could see the river. Well, maybe not see it, since they couldn’t focus on things that far away yet, but they’d know something was there. We stood behind the bench and watched the water for a little while. Then Ajie said, “I’ll bet the Eagles don’t show up.”

“Why?”, I asked.

“Wasn’t it just about this time last year that they laid their eggs?”

“You’re right. It was.”

I then heard someone walking on the trail, I turned and looked, and it was two park rangers. It was Lieutenant “Zimm” Zimmerman and Ranger Franklin. Zimm saw us and waved, I waved back, and they walked towards us. As they walked up, Zimm said, “Long time no see.”

“It has been a while.”, I replied.

“No, Eagles today.”

“No, but like Ajie just said, it was this time of year last year that they laid eggs.”

“That’s right. So have you seen them recently?”

“Yes, we stopped by the nest site last weekend and saw both of the mature ones.”

“Have you seen any of the immature ones?”, Zimm asked.

“Not for a long time.”, I replied.

Then looking at the twins, Zimm asked, “And, who do we have here?”

“These are the twins that we’re adopting. The boy is Tsé, and the girl is Haseya.”

“Breaking them into hiking early?”

“Yes, got to get them started early.”

“It was terrific seeing you again.”, Zimm said.

“The same goes for you and Ranger Franklin.”, I replied.

“We’ve got to get going.”

“Hágoónee', – (See you later,) Zimm. Ranger Franklin.”

Both of them said so long as they headed back to the trail and towards the parking lot.

Ajie and I put the twins on our backs and then headed south to the parking lot. Once we were there, we put the twins into their car seats and headed home. Before we got out of the parking lot, I looked at Ajie and said, “Thirsty?”

“Yeah.”, Ajie said.

“Ginger ale milkshakes?”

“Sounds wonderful. But we’d better get them to go. It’s about time to feed these two.”

“Okay. I can drink and drive.”

We drove over to our favorite drive-in, parked, and ordered two ginger ale milkshakes to go. After we got them and were pulling out of the drive-in, Ajie put a straw into mine and handed it to me. I took a long way home instead of the Interstate.

About ten minutes from home, Tsé started getting fussy, and that was quickly followed by Haseya getting fussy. As we pulled into the garage, the twins were letting us know that they were hungry. So we quickly got them to the master suite and changed. As Ajie took care of dressing them, I went and got their bottles ready. And it wasn’t long until we had two quiet and satisfied children.

Ajie then put together a nice dinner for us. It was one of my favorites, salmon, sweet potatoes, and asparagus. Oh yum! Then we sat in front of a nice fire, listened to some good music, and sipped sangria. I can’t wait until it warms up and we can do this in the back courtyard with the twins.

My Queen has figured out how we can enjoy a tryst without waking up the little princess or the little prince. So, we enjoyed each other until the twins woke up for their midnight meal.

After I taught my Monday classes, instead of going to the office, I met Ajie and the twins at the medical building of the hospital. It was time for the twin's two-month checkup. And Ajie and I, again, used the cradleboards to take the twins up to the doctor's office. And like last time, we answered questions about the cradleboards.

The doctor was pleased with what she was seeing from the twins. Since the last time they were here, Tsé had gained almost an inch and put on twenty-four ounces, Haseya had also gained about an inch but only put on twenty ounces. And they don’t have to see the doctor again until they’re four months old.

After I’d helped Ajie put the twins in their car seats, and said hágoónee' - (see you later), I headed for the office. Dr. Joe wasn’t there. So, I dug out the project and went to work. The first thing I did was look over the schematic again, and then I went back to work on the breadboard circuit. I was still wondering how we were going to fit this into the space they want it to fit in. But I plodded on.

A little later, Dr. Joe showed up. And after our usual greeting, he asked, “So, how’s the project?”

“It’s going good.”, I said. “But, … ”

“But what?”

“We’re going to have to figure out how to fit all of this into the space they want it in.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll make that happen.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I am.”

Dr. Joe looked at the breadboard and asked, “Are those all high precision resistors?”

“Yes.”, I replied. “Just like with the circuit for the Apollo.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many resistors with a fifth gold band in one place before.”

“There are a lot of them, and there’s even a couple current sense resistors. Plus, everything else is high precision.”

“It figures. It’s for N.A.S.A.”

“That it is.”

“I’ve got a meeting with the Dean, so I’ve got to run.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Okay. I’m about ready to call it a day. So, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Oh. Mary and I were talking.”

“That’s a good thing to do with your wife.”

“Kai! Mary and I were talking about the Saturday that we all got together at your place and how much fun it was. And we thought it might be something good to do once a month or so at each other's house.”

“It might.”

“Talk to Ajie about it.”

“I will.”

“See you later, Kai.”

“Hágoónee' - (See you later), Dr. Joe.

I worked until I hit a good place to stop, which was about thirty minutes after Dr. Joe had left, then I put everything away and headed home. When I was back home, I received a wonderful greeting from Ajie, and I could tell the twins were happy to see me.

During dinner, Ajie said, “Mary Oshie called today.”

“That was nice.”, I said.

“Yes. And she hit me with an idea about getting the eight of us together regularly because we have such a good time when we’re together.”

“Dr. Joe and I talked about it too, and I was going to talk to you about it tonight. And I think it might be fun.”

“It might.”, Ajie said. “But, I can’t see Charlie and Jackie putting this on at the apartment.”

“That might be a little crowded.”, I said. “But what if Charlie and Jackie host it, and we let them have it here.”

“I like that.”

“Now, the next question, what would we do with the twins?”

“Good question. We might have to look into a baby sitter.”

“Are we ready for that?”

“I think so. We also have to look at the daycare for the spring quarter, and I have that class to teach.”

“Have you heard when it’s going to be offered.”

“The addendum to the spring schedule came out last week, and they scheduled it for Tuesday and Thursday at eleven, and they weighted it as two credit hours.”

“Have you been able to work on your notes?”, I asked.

“Yes, while the twins were napping.”, Ajie replied.

“Good.”

“But, I’d like to take a run into the university and check on the daycare for then.”

“Why don’t I come home right after I teach my classes on Wednesday, and you could go and check it out.”

“You can do that?”

“Yes, the project is going well.”

“That’s good to hear. So I’ll plan on going in on Wednesday.”

We finished dinner, and after we’d cleaned up, we decided to take the twins for a walk. We got out their awéétsáál or cradleboards and got them all set to go. I was carrying Haseya, and Ajie carried Tsé. We walked out through the front courtyard and headed down the driveway, as we walked down our road, Ajie said, “You know, I think the twins are outgrowing these cradleboards.”

“I think you’re right.”, I said.

“Do we want to get bigger ones or start using the two-seat stroller?”

“The twins seem to like going out in the cradleboards, and they come in handy when we take them places. So, I’d say a bigger one.”

“Should we call Mrs. Benallie and see what she has?”

“And if she does, we could run up on Saturday and take a look at them.”

“We could.”. Ajie said. “And we did tell Mrs. Benallie that we’d bring the twins up to see her.”

“And maybe even run over to see Aunt Ruth and Uncle Paul?”, I added.

“We could. And maybe spend the night?”

“We could do that too.”

“Let me call Mrs. Benallie first and see what she has.”

Tuesday, as usual, I taught my classes, went to my grad level class, and worked on the project. I did tell Dr. Joe about Ajie wanting to go and check out the university’s daycare on Wednesday, and that I wouldn’t be in except to teach my classes. He grumbled about it a bit but saw the reasoning behind it. I also told Dr. Joe that Ajie and I had talked about our friends getting together regularly and that it sounded like fun.

Wednesday, I taught my classes and headed home. When I was home, Ajie and I had a quick lunch together. As we ate, Ajie said that she’d called Mrs. Benallie and that she had a few of the larger cradleboards in the shop. I told Ajie that I’d call Aunt Ruth. Then Ajie headed to the university to check out their daycare. And that left me with the twins.

So, I gave the twins lunch, and, of course, that includes changing them. We then played for a little while, and then put them in the playpen with the mobile entertaining them. I did some clothes washing and also got some reading in. Plus, I called Aunt Ruth and told her that we were coming up after a stop at Mrs. Benallie’s store, and she was happy to hear that.

About two hours after Ajie left, I heard the ding from the driveway, and then shortly, I heard one of the garage doors open. I walked to the door from the house to the garage, just as Ajie pulled in. I watched as she got out of the car, and I asked, “So, was it what we heard?”

“It was very nice and clean, and I was impressed by how they do things with the children.”, Ajie replied. “And I have the twins all set up for two days a week for spring quarter. And I figure that we could take them in together, and then the first one of us to go home could pick them up.”

“That sounds good. I talked to Aunt Ruth, and she'll have lunch for us when we get there on Saturday.”

“This’ll be fun.”

Thursday and Friday were normal, teach classes and work on the project for N.A.S.A. Except that on Friday, Dr. Joe made it official when he told me something exciting. It was more scary than exciting. Dr. Joe had told me that the defense of my dissertation is scheduled for one o’clock on Monday, February the seventeenth at the Graduate School. I guess a night at the resort might be a good thing.

Friday evening Ajie and I packed everything that the four of us would need for spending the night at the resort.

Saturday, we’d fed the twins at midnight and then went to bed ourselves.

The next time we heard the twins, which should have been three in the morning, wasn’t. When we heard from them, I looked at the clock and said, “What the hell.”

“What’s wrong, honey?”, Ajie asked.

“Did you get up and feed the twins at three? And I didn’t hear them.”

“No, why?

“It’s five o’clock.”

“What!?”

“Yeah, it’s five.”

“So, they slept from midnight to five?”, Ajie asked.

“It sure looks that way.”, I replied.

“I wonder if this is a fluke, or they might start sleeping through the night?”

“Let’s hope that they’re starting to sleep through the night.”

Ajie and I got up, and of course, the two little ones needed to be changed. Then we took them out to the big room, put them in their seats, and fed them. Then put them back to bed.

Ajie and I then had breakfast and loaded everything that we hadn’t loaded last night, except the twins, into the car. It’s only an hour's drive from here to Mrs. Benallie’s store, so we figured that we’d leave at about eight, that would put us at Mrs. Benallies’ at nine, and we should make the resort by eleven.

At seven, we got the twins up, changed, and fed them early. They didn’t complain about eating early. Then we took them out to the garage, put them in their car seats, and headed north to Santa Fe.

An hour later, we were pulling into Mrs. Benallie’s store, that’s just outside of Santa Fe. As we did, I noticed that there were maybe a dozen or more cars and pickups parked around the building. She must be busy.

Then something on the side of one of the pickup trucks caught my attention, and I said, “Honey, do you remember the name of the horse farm that the girl’s parents owned?”

“What girl?”, Ajie asked.

“The twin's biological mother.”

“Oh. Yeah, it’s The Grande River Horse Ranch. Why?”

“Look at the side of that red pickup truck.”

Ajie looked and said, “It says, ‘The Grande River Horse Ranch.’ Oh!”

“Think we should go and come back later?”

“It might be a good idea.”

I pulled out and drove into Santa Fe. We drove around the city for a while and then went back to Mrs. Benallie’s store. This time when we pulled in, the pickup truck was gone. So, we parked, got out of the car, took the twins out of their car seats, and put them into the cradleboards. I was carrying Tsé, and Ajie was carrying Haseya as we walked into the shop. It was a little crowded. But Mrs. Benallie saw us right away, and loudly said, “Kai. Ajie. It’s good to see you again. And who do you have with you?”

“Yá'át'ééh. Nizhonigó íiná aadóó hozhónahasdlíí. - (Hello. It is good, and all is harmony around us.)”, I replied. “We have Tsé and Haseya with us.”

I saw some of the people in the shop look our way. Then Mrs. Benallie said, “Bring them over and let me see.”

As we walked over, she called to her sister, and said, “Haloke, come and see who’s here.”

We walked over to the sales counter, unslung the twins from our backs, and set them in their cradleboards on the counter. Mrs. Benallie looked at the twins and said, “They are so precious. How old are they?”

“About nine weeks.”, Ajie said.

“You did say they were outgrowing their awéétsááls – (cradleboards). And they are.”

Just then, Mrs. Benallie’s sister, Haloke, walked over from her side of the building, which is a beauty shop, and said, “What’s all the excitement.”

“Kai and Ajie Nez are here, and they brought a surprise with them.”

“What?”

Mrs. Benallie pointed at the cradleboards and said, “These two.”

Haloke walked closer, looked, and said, “Oh! Aren’t they cute. What’s there names?”

“Tsé and Haseya.”, Ajie said.

“Have they had their A’wee Chi’deedloh - (Baby Laughed Ceremony) yet?”

“No, their only nine weeks old.”

“It won’t be long.”

A few of the other ladies who were in the shop came over to see the twins, and I won’t go into all the nice things that were said. But there was a lot of it.

Then Mrs. Benallie said, “Come with me, and I’ll show you what I have in the way of bigger awéétsááls.”

Ajie and I slung the twins on our backs and followed Mrs. Benallie to a back corner of the shop, and there were seven cradleboards there. Three were the same size as what we now have, and the other four were bigger. We looked at the four bigger ones, all of them were well built and decorated very nicely. Ajie liked two of them, so we carried them back to the sales counter.

Then Ajie and I looked at the children’s clothes that Mrs. Benallie had in the shop. They were all adorable. I could see the wheels turning in Ajie’s mind, and a little smile start to build.

When we left the shop, we had not only the two cradleboards but a miniature set of clothes for each twin. Haseya has a fancy skirt and blouse, and a cute headband. And Tsé will look like Uncle Paul in his white linen pants, a bright red shirt, and a red headscarf. We already have two pairs of baby moccasin that Dibe Bylilly had gotten the twins. And I just knew what Ajie was planning. Pictures of the twins all dressed up.

Before we drove off, we checked diapers, and they were both wet, so we took the time to change their diapers. We pulled into the resort at just about eleven, and that gave us time to feed the twins, set up the playpen, and bring everything into the house before lunch.

As we ate lunch, my aunt asked, “So, what are you two going to do while you’re up here?”

“I just need to relax.”, I said. “Maybe use one of the thermal pools.”

“He’s defending his doctoral dissertation next Monday afternoon.”, Ajie added.

“You have to defend it?”, Uncle Paul asked.

“Yes, you have to go in front of a group of faculty, and they will have already gone over your dissertation and will have open-ended questions for you. You’ll have to be prepared for anything and everything. They’ll ask you about what your post-dissertation research plans are. And they ask you about the weaknesses of your study.”

Then I added, “And I have a feeling that I’m going to have to defend my age and bypassing a master’s degree.”

“I can see why you need to relax before that. And probably afterward, too.”

“You’re right, Uncle Paul.”, I said.

“From what I’ve heard from our one friend, Kai may not have much to defend.”, Ajie said. “He told us that it was an outstanding dissertation. Besides, Kai knows the subject backward and forwards.”

“Kids.”, Aunt Ruth said. “If there’s anything you two want to do, don’t worry about the twins. I’ll watch them.”

“Thanks.”, I said. “I think we’ll take you up on that, Aunt Ruth.”

Ajie and I went and grabbed our swimsuits and robes. Then we told the twins to behave for Aunt Ruth, and we headed for the bathhouse. We quickly changed into our swimsuits, put on our robes, and ran to one of the pools. The air was cold, but the thermal waters were so warm. 

We soaked for about thirty minutes, then ran back into the bathhouse, took showers, dressed, and headed out through the bathhouse. As we walked past the desk, the girl asked, “Are you, Kai and Ajie Nez?”

“Yes.”, I replied. “Why?”

“Mrs. Biakeddy called and scheduled you for massages.”

“That was nice of her.”

“Miss Kai, I have you scheduled with Amber in five minutes. And Miss Ajie, I have you scheduled with Rosa in ten minutes.”

I thought, ‘At least Amber knows about me.’ Amber, who’s Navajo name is Ahiga, had given me my first massage when we were out here in 1965, and she knows all, yes all, about me.

Ajie and I sat and waited for our masseuses. Amber was the first to come and get me, and I received an excellent massage using warmed, oiled basalt stones. Amber or Ahiga told me that the large stones, which are heated in the mineral waters, are placed on your body to help calm and relax your mind and nervous system. While the massage that she was doing would soothe my muscles, balance my energy, and relieve any tension that I had.

Boy did it relax me, Ahiga had to wake me up when she was finished. When I was finally out in the lobby of the bathhouse, Ajie was already there. And Ajie said, “You look like you had a nice nap.”

“Oh, I did.”, I replied. Then I looked at Ahiga, and said, “Ahiga, I’ll be back in a little while. I want to give you a tip, and I don’t have my purse with me.”

“No, need, Miss Kai.”, Ahiga said. “It’s been taken care of.”

“By who?”

“Mrs. Biakeddy.”

“You wait until I get my hands on Aunt Ruth.”, I said.

“Don’t be hard on her, Miss Kai.”, Ahiga said.

“I won’t.”

Ajie and I went back to the house, and as we walked in, I heard Aunt Ruth singing in Navajo. We followed her voice and found her sitting by the playpen, singing to the twins. And they were looking towards her. Ajie and I both smiled. Aunt Ruth looked up at us and said, “They’ve been wonderful. They even took a nap.”

“That’s good.”, Ajie said.

“How were your massages?”

“Wonderful.”

“Yes, wonderful.”, I said. “But why did you tip Ahiga?”

“Because I wanted to.”

I just shook my head.

At about two-thirty, we fed the twins, then I said, “I’d like to take a hike up onto the cliff.”

“That would be good.”, Ajie said.

“I’d like to do it around Sunset.”

“That’s just before six.”, Aunt Ruth said. “And we’re eating at seven.”

“If we feed the twins at five, we should be able to make it to the clifftop before six. As long as Aunt Ruth doesn’t mind watching them again.”

“Mind watching those two. Never.”

A little before six, Ajie and I were hiking up the cliff trail. We were at the top just before Sunset, and it was a lovely Sunset, but nothing like the ones during the summer. While there was still enough light, we walked over to where the little tree is. It hadn’t grown much, if any since we were up here the last time, but it is wintertime.

We were back in time to help Aunt Ruth with dinner. We put together a chicken skillet with long-grain white rice, salsa, shredded chicken, black beans, chili powder, shredded cheese, and green onions. Aunt Ruth had also made a flat bean bread. This is made with masa, salt, baking powder, beans, and water from cooking the beans.

This was a great meal. And dessert was a pumpkin flan, and the taste of the pumpkin and chili powder together was both interesting and wonderful. Aunt Ruth hadn’t made this, but one of her friends had.

We spent the rest of the evening just relaxing in the living room in front of the fireplace. We played with the twins, and of course, they were fed and put to bed at nine. Ajie and I were so relaxed after the thermal pools and the massage that we both got sleepy around ten and called it a night.

Did the twins sleep through the night? No such luck, they were up at midnight, three, and six. And after their six o’clock feeding, Ajie and I just stayed up, and we had the twins up at seven and out in the playpen. My aunt and uncle were also up around seven.

After breakfast on Sunday morning, Ajie and I went and soaked in one of the thermal pools. Then we sat with my aunt and uncle and talked until lunchtime, and then we made lunch for them. Of course, we also took care of the twins.

As we were leaving for home, my aunt said, “Kai. Honey. Be sure to let us know how things go tomorrow.”

“I will, Aunt Ruth.”, I replied.

The drive home was uneventful, and the back seat passengers were quiet. And the rest of Sunday was the way I wanted it, peaceful. Except for the twins letting us know that they were hungry.

The twins were in bed at nine, and Ajie and I were in bed at ten. Ajie went right to sleep. I didn’t. My mind was in high gear. 

I was still awake at a little after midnight on Monday morning when the twins let us know they were hungry, so I was the first one up, and I changed them while Ajie fixed their bottles. Then we sat on the bed and fed the twins and put them back to bed.

Ajie and I were back in bed right after we put the twins down. And somehow, I got to sleep. And thank you Great Spirit we didn’t hear from the twins until about five. Are they going to start skipping the three o’clock feeding?

Ajie and I got up, changed and fed the twins, then put them back to bed. But we stayed up.

As Ajie and I were working on our breakfast, Ajie said, “You didn’t sleep well last night. Did you?”

“No.”, I replied. “I had too much on my mind. But after the midnight feeding, I did get to sleep.”

“I can imagine. I know I didn’t sleep well the night before mine. How are you now?”

“Okay, I think. Though the nerves are starting.”

“I can understand that, honey. Just realize that all of your friends and family are behind you.”

“I know, love. I couldn’t do this without you.”

“And I couldn’t have done mine without you.”

“Really?”

“Uh huh. You are my strength.”

“You’re also mine.”

She smiled, and then we shared a deep kiss and almost burned breakfast.

My first class wasn’t until nine, but I left for the university at about seven-thirty. After I’d said so long to the twins, given Ajie a long deep kiss, I’d taken something out of the safe, and put it in the car. That something was the metal briefcase from N.A.S.A. that contained the breadboard, the original printed circuit board that I’d built, and the complete guidance system for the Apollo spacecraft. It also had my copy of my dissertation in it. What else did it have in it? I was going to a big-time meeting, so there was also silver jewelry and the fancy braided leather headband with the Eagle feather in the case.

How was I dressed? Ajie had done my hair in two braids, and she had worked the white, turquoise, yellow, and black leather strips into the braids. Then I’d added fancy wraps to the ends. I was wearing a long fancy skirt, a fancy blouse, wrap moccasins, a simple headband, and a few pieces of silver jewelry. My earrings were my favorite ones. The ones that my grandfather had made with a round silver piece with three gold feathers hanging from it. There was also the Concho belt that this skirt and blouse demanded. And of course the meteorite necklace.

As I got into the car, Ajie said, “Call me.”

“It’ll be my first call.”, I replied.

We exchanged a quick kiss. I got in the car and headed for the university.

At the university, I parked in the faculty lot and walked to the engineering building. I knew that I drew some attention. Maybe it was the metal briefcase with the N.A.S.A. emblem on it, or perhaps it was something else.

I walked into the engineering building and went up to the office, the light was on, so Dr. Joe was here. I walked into the office, and Dr. Joe said, “Good morning, Kai.”

“Morin’, Dr. Joe.”, I replied.

“You look like you’re going someplace special.”

“Who me. No, not me.”

I set my briefcase next to the worktable, then walked over to the fireproof file cabinet, unlocked it, put the metal briefcase in it, and relocked it.

Dr. Joe had been watching me. And when I finished, he said, “Taking that to the meeting at one?”

“I thought I would.”, I said. “Just in case someone wants to see the real thing.”

“Good idea.”

We chatted until I had to leave for my first class. And as I was going, Dr. Joe said, “I probably won’t be here when you get back, so I’ll see you at the Grad School.”

“Okay.”, I replied.

“Do you know where you need to be at one?”

“In the Grad School’s office.”

“Right on.”

I went to my first class and somehow made it through that class and my next one. I think my students knew that I had something on my mind. Then I went back to the office, and it was dark. I unlocked the door, went in, disabled the alarm, locked the door, and didn’t turn on the light. I sat in Dr. Joe’s chair, leaned back, put my feet up on the desk, and sat there for a couple of minutes.

Then I picked up a new technical journal, that must have just arrived, and started looking through it. About half the way through it, something caught my attention, and I read the article very carefully. When I finished reading, I smiled and closed the magazine.

A little before one, I got up, retrieved the metal briefcase from the file cabinet, opened it, and added the technical journal to what was in the briefcase.

At twenty to one, I set the alarm, walked out of the office carrying the metal briefcase, and locked the door, and headed for the Grad School.

But before I’d left the office, I’d replaced the simple headband with the fancy braided leather headband with the Eagle feather. I’d added the hair bone choker with the Concho. I’d also added two bracelets and four rings.

I walked across campus like a woman on a mission. I guess maybe I was.

I walked into the Graduate School and to the reception area. As I walked in, the secretary looked at me and asked, “Can I help you, miss?”

“Yes.”, I said. “I’m Miss Kai Nez. I have a meeting here at one.”

“Oh, yes, Miss Nez. They’re expecting you. Have a seat, and I’ll tell them that you’re here.”

The secretary got up and walked down a hall. She was gone a few minutes, and when she came back, she said, “Miss Nez, someone will come out in a few minutes to take you back.”

“Thank you.”, I said.

It was a couple of minutes after one when I saw Dr. Joe walk into the reception room. He looked at me, smiled, and said, “Are you ready for this, Kai.”

As I stood up, I said, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Well, come with me.”

I picked up the metal briefcase and walked with Dr. Joe down a hall to a closed door. Dr. Joe whispered, “Everything will be fine.”

I looked at him and said, “Yes, it will.”

Dr. Joe opened the door for me and followed me into the room. Six older men were sitting behind a long table with a nameplate in front of each of them, and there was an empty chair, which I figured was for Dr. Joe. There was a small table with a chair in front of the long table, and I figured that it was for me.

Dr. Joe and I walked up to the small table. Then Dr. Joe said, “Gentlemen, I’d like to present Miss Kai Nez, who is our current doctoral candidate.

“Miss Nez, I’d like to present the committee that you will defend your dissertation in front of. The Chairman is Dr. Stanley Cooper.”

The man sitting in the middle said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Nez.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Dr. Cooper.”

“Then Dr. Joe said, “On his immediate right is Dr. Robert Thackeray.”

He just nodded, and I returned the nod as I just said, “Dr. Thackeray.”

Then Dr. Joe went on to introduce the other four, who were Dr. Thomas Theodore, Dr. James Keller, Dr. Donald Franklin, and Dr. Adam Foster.

I wasn’t feeling anything bad from the six men. But I was feeling a little apprehension from someone, or maybe it was more than one.

Dr. Cooper then said, “Miss Nez, if you’d like to have a seat at the small table and Dr. Oshie, if you’d take your seat, we’ll get started.”

Dr. Joe walked over and took his seat. And before I sat, I set the metal briefcase on the table, opened it, and took out my copy of my dissertation and the technical journal, and set them on the table. Then I closed the case, set it on the floor, and took my seat.

Dr. Cooper said, “Miss Nez, that’s an interesting case that you have.”

“Yes, sir, it is.”, I replied. “It’s what N.A.S.A. sent us the circuits in that are the basis of my dissertation.”

“So, you now use it as your briefcase?”

“No, sir. I brought the three circuits that are pictured in my dissertation in case someone would like to see them.”

“But you keep them locked away?”

“For now, yes. But, since they’re no longer classified, we’ll be putting them on display soon.”

Then Dr. Foster said, “Miss Nez.”

I looked at him and said, “Yes, sir.”

“We have a concern about your age and being a doctoral candidate.”

As I said, “I thought you might.”, I thought, ‘Here we go.’

“Why do you feel that you’d make a good PhD?”

“Sir.”, I said. “Seeing what I’ve done while at the university, I feel that I can do more for the university, it’s students, and the people we research for if I have my doctoral degree. I know my subject, and how to employ it in the research we do, and in the classes that I teach.

“We’ve done, and are doing, some serious research for some outside entities, and they keep coming back to us to solve problems and develop new things, like what’s mentioned in my dissertation.”

“Can I ask who these people are that you research for?”, Dr. Foster asked.

“Yes, sir, you can ask, but I can only tell you who two of them are.”

“So, some of the work you do is secret?”

“Yes, sir, most of it.”

“Who are the two that you can tell us about?”

“One you already know, and that’s the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The other is the Los Alamos National Laboratory.”

I saw a couple of eyebrows go up.

Then Dr. Thackeray said, “Miss Nez, tell us a little of your educational background.”

I went on to tell them of my college experience and graduating from the Ohio State University with a Cum Laude bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and then coming to the University of New Mexico to work on my master's degree, but doing my doctoral instead.

Then Dr. Thackeray asked, “Miss Nez, why did you decide to bypass your masters?”

“I was directed that way by my advisors.”, I replied.

“Who were your advisors?”

“Dean Rutherford and Dean Oshie. And I’m planning on going back and doing my masters.”

Dr. Foster then said, “Miss Nez, electrical engineering is a very strange vocation for a woman to go into. Care to explain?”

“Sir.”, I said. “It’s something that I love to do. And it’s something that you will see more and more women doing. There is a wealth of intelligence out there being wasted. But, I and others feel that there will be more and more women scientists, doctors, and politicians. It’ll be realized that a woman can do the job as well as a man can.

“For example, look at Admiral Grace Hopper.

“I may be on the leading edge of this. And it’s hard getting your foot in the door, but some have seen that I know my craft and can apply it to both research and teaching.”

Then Dr. Keller asked, “Miss Nez, where do you see your research going.”

“Sir.”, I said. “I’ve always been interested in seeing what makes things work, and that has got me into trouble when I was growing up. But I continued doing it.”

That got some smiles and chuckles.

And I continued with, “And, it’s been said, do what you love, and you'll never work another day in your life. And I love doing research and watching what I’ve done being put into use, as with the Apollo space program. Plus, I also love teaching and imparting knowledge to my students.

“And I will continue doing research as long as I can. And by the way, we are currently working on a new project for N.A.S.A.”

“Very interesting, Miss Nez.”, Dr. Cooper said. “I also understand that you’re a Research Associate?”

“Yes, sir, I am.”

“Isn’t that usually someone with an advanced degree.”

“Yes, sir, I believe it is.”

“Then why are you a Research Associate?”

“I’ve wondered that myself, sir. Maybe it was because someone saw my ability.”

I glanced at Dr. Joe, and he was nodding yes. Dr. Cooper saw me looking at Dr. Joe and said, “Dr. Oshie, do you know why Miss Nez was given a Research Associate position?”

“Yes, sir.”, Dr. Joe said, “Dean Rutherford and I saw Miss Nez’s ability, and wanted to reward her. She’s an amazing researcher.”

Then looking back at me, Dr. Cooper said, “Now, Miss Nez, let’s get down to your dissertation.”

“I’ll be very happy to.”, I replied.

I’m not going to bore you with what went on over the next twenty minutes, but I feel that I was able to defend my dissertation very well. Especially towards the end when Dr. Theodore said, “So, Miss Nez, you feel that the circuit that you described in your dissertation has some merit and at some time may come onto the market for the general public?”

I grinned as I picked up the technical journal, and said, “Yes, sir, I do. In fact, it has just been released to the general public.

“While I was waiting for this meeting to start, I was sitting in my office, and I happened to pick up a technical journal that just came. As I went through it, an article caught my attention. It was about N.A.S.A. releasing an integrated circuit to the general public. I read the article and was pleasantly surprised as to what I read. And what was at the end of the article made me smile.”

I then turned to the end of the article, and read aloud, “N.A.S.A. wishes to thank Miss Kai Nez and her research team at the University of New Mexico for their hard work in developing this integrated circuit.”

I stood up, carried the journal to Dr. Cooper, and handed it to him. Then I went and sat back down at the little table. Dr. Cooper took a quick look at the article and passed it on to the other members of the committee.

Then Dr. Cooper looked at me and said, “Miss Nez, I don’t think we have any more questions for you. Do we gentlemen?”

No one said anything, and I saw a couple of them shake their heads no.

Then Dr. Cooper said, “Miss Nez, if you’ll go and wait in the reception area, we’ll call you when we’ve made a decision.”

I got up, picked up my copy of my dissertation and the metal briefcase, and went out to the reception area, sat, and waited.

About twenty minutes later, Dr. Joe came out and said, “Kai, come on back.”

I walked with Dr. Joe back to the conference room, and I took my seat at the small table.

Dr. Cooper looked at me and said, “Miss Nez, you are a strong person. Aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir, I guess I am.”, I replied

“You are. I’m going to tell you something that we usually don’t tell a doctoral candidate.”

“You don’t have to, sir.”

“We want to. When we do one of these, we always send out letters asking for letters of recommendation. We usually send out between eight and twelve letters. For you, we sent out ten, but we were surprised that we received fifteen. How these others found out, we don’t know. And I can’t tell you who they were from, but we were surprised as to who they were from.”

“That’s interesting, sir.”

Then as Dr. Cooper stood, he said, "Congratulations, Dr. Nez. Your defense was successful, and the committee has passed your dissertation.”

I smiled as the whole committee applauded. I got up, walked over to Dr. Cooper, shook his hand, and said, “Thank you so much.”

“It was our pleasure, Dr. Nez.”, Dr. Cooper said, and as he handed me the technical journal, he added, “And you might want to keep this in your library.”

“Yes, sir, I do.”

Then I went to each member of the committee, shook their hands, and thanked them.

Lastly, I was at Dr. Joe, he grinned, and said, “See I told you that you could do it.”

“You were right, Dr. Joe.”, I said. “Thanks for all of your support.”

“Kai, you didn’t need any.”

“Says you.”

“Yes, says me.”

As we were about ready to walk out of the conference room, I turned, looked at the committee, and said, “Gentlemen, once again, I want to thank all of you for everything.”

Dr. Cooper said, “You are more than welcome, Dr. Nez. It’s been a real pleasure meeting you.”

As Dr. Joe and I were walking through the reception area, Dr. Joe said, “We need to stop in the Dean’s office.”

“And I need to make a phone call first.”, I said.

“Ajie.”

“Who else?”

“You can use my phone.”, the secretary said.

I walked over to her desk, and as she turned the phone to me, I said, “Thank you.”

I picked up the phone and dialed our home number. It rang about three times, and I heard a sweet voice say, “Hello. Nez residence.”

I’d smiled as I said, “Hello, Dr. Nez. This is the other Dr. Nez.”

I’d heard a loud, “Yes! I’m so proud of you!”, from Ajie.

“I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

“Ayóó' áníínísh'ní! - (I love you!)”, Ajie said.

“Ayóó' áníínísh'ní aldó’! - (I love you too!) Hágoónee'. - (See you later.)”, I replied.

Hágoónee'. - (See you later.)

And I hung up the phone.