Ajie and I also met with a reporter from the Navajo Times that was going to write an article about Dibe receiving the plaque. We also found out that he was an investigative reporter and was working on something that Chief Peshlakai was doing that went deeper than what the chief was doing to us.

We also meditated at the bonfire with Dibe, and she felt her spirit. When as we took her home, we talked, and she learned that when she had challenged me to do something for my people that it had sparked the idea for the scholarship.

Last night, Dibe had said, “It’s hard to remember that you are a boy, seeing you as Kai.”

My response had been, “Sometimes it’s even hard for me.”

That night when we were in bed, Amy said,“If we weren’t so tired, I’d show you how I never forget that you’re a boy.”

I said, “Huh?”

“Don’t you remember telling Dibe that you sometimes find it hard to remember that you’re a boy?”

“I did?”

“Yes, you did. I never forget that you’re a boy.”

She curled up to me and went to sleep.

I laid awake trying to figure out what she was talking about, and I finally dozed off. But this morning I found out what she meant. Boy did I ever find out.

Today was Saturday, July 1st and the first day of a long 4th of July Holiday weekend. Once we were out of bed and dressed, we walked into the kitchen, and my aunt and uncle were there. And I asked, “Aunt Ruth, is there any way that we could receive the Navajo Times in Albuquerque?”

“You might find it in some of the drug stores, or they have a mail subscription service. The post office will deliver it, but it will be a few days behind.”, Aunt Ruth replied.

“There’s a drug store not far from us. I’ll check it out.”

“I want to make sure we get a subscription to that quarterly newsletter too.”, Amy said.

“That would be good.”, I replied. “I think there was something in it about subscribing. We’ll look when we get back to the apartment.”

“So, what are you two up to today?”, my aunt asked.

“We need to go back to the apartment.”, I replied. “There's still a lot of things we need to do. And we wanted to stop at Mrs. Benallie’s shop on the way back.”

“She’ll like seeing you again.”

“It’ll be nice seeing her too.”

We fixed ourselves a nice breakfast and talked with my aunt while we ate. Then we went back to our room to pack. As I was getting ready to pack Kai’s things, I stopped and looked at them. Amy saw me, and said, “Thinking of driving back as Kai?”

“Yeah.”, I replied. “But I’m not sure.”

“Why not just do it.”

“You’re right. Just do it.”

I stripped out of Tom’s clothes and dressed in the special panty, a cute bra with the forms, a pair of panties, a long skirt, and a plain white blouse. I took my hair out of the guy's ponytail, that I’d put it in an hour ago, and went with a straight look with one of the braided leather hairbands. I went light with the jewelry, and I used Amy’s beaded earrings, the Concho belt that my grandfather made, and with my meteorite necklace that was it. A light touch of makeup and I was ready.

Amy had watched me and was smiling at me when I finished. I asked, “What are you smiling at?”

“Just you.”, Amy replied. “You went from being Tom to being Kai in no time. You just amaze me.”

“I guess it helps when you feel like a girl.”

“It does.”

We finished packing. It wasn’t much, just one suitcase and the camera bag. We said so long to my aunt and uncle and headed back to Albuquerque. As we neared Santa Fe, we headed to Mrs. Benallie’s shop, and as we pulled up to the shop, there were some cars and pickup trucks there. Amy said, “It looks like it’s a busy day.”

As we walked into the shop, I was carrying the camera bag, and there were many people there. Both men and women. Mrs. Benallie was busy behind the counter helping customers. And it looked like there were a couple of other women working in the shop helping Mrs. Benallie. At least, for her sake, I hoped there were.

Mrs. Benallie took a look in our direction, and said, “Welcome. Feel free to look around, and someone will help you shortly.”

I said, “Thank you, Mrs. Benallie.”

There was a short pause, and then I heard Mrs. Benallie say, “Kai! Kai Nez?”

I looked at her, smiled, and said, “Yes.”

“It’s good to see you again. Look around, and I’ll be with you as soon as I can.”

“No hurry.”

When Mrs. Benallie had said, ‘Kai Nez’ some people started looking in our direction. And I saw some of the women whispering among themselves.

Amy and I looked around, and Amy found a pair of wrap moccasins that she liked. She tried them on, and they fit. I also found a regular pair of moccasins that I liked, and they fit. And of course, we had to look at clothes. And that ended up with us choosing two tops and two long skirts each.

As we walked up to the front counter, where Mrs. Benallie was, I saw today's issue of the Navajo Times. And on the front page was a was an article about the presentation to Dibe, as well as a picture of me, Ajie, Dibe, Chief Kinlicheeny, and Naainish, as we presented Dibe with her plaque. I set the camera bag down, picked up five copies, and went to take fifty cents out of my purse to pay for them. Then Mrs. Benallie walked over and started talking.

I sensed something. Something wasn’t right. I looked down to where I’d set the camera bag. It was gone! I looked towards the door and saw a guy walking out with the camera bag, and I yelled, “Stop thief!”

He took off running, and I ran after him. He was just at the bottom of the steps that led down off the porch when I ran out the door. He looked big, but not that big. He turned looked at me and started running through the parked cars. I was down the steps and on his heels in a flash.

He turned, and swung the camera bag at me, as said, “Get away from me before I hurt you.”

I didn’t respond in words. But in action. I grabbed the camera bag as he swung it, pulled it and him towards me, and did a kick to his chest. He let go of the bag, grabbed his chest, and dropped to his knees. I then delivered another kick, and he fell over in a heap. And I took a defensive stance.

Amy was right behind me, and said, “Kai! Stop. Don’t kick him again. He’s down.”

“I won’t.”, I said.

“Kai!”, I heard someone call from behind me. “Kai! The sheriff’s on the way.”

I looked back at the porch, and I saw everyone that was inside standing there looking at us. It was Mrs. Benallie that was talking. “Thank you. Mrs. Benallie.”, I said.

“Are you all right?”, she asked.

“Yes, ma'am. I’m fine.”

The guy on the ground started to moan and move. I looked at him, and said, “You move, and I’ll put you right back down there.”

He stopped moving, looked at me, and said, “How did you do this to me?”

“Don’t worry about it. But if you get up, I will put you back down there.”

A few minutes later we heard a siren off in the distance. And it wasn't long until a sheriff's car pulled in lights flashing and siren blaring. The deputy jumped out of the car, walked up to us, and asked, “What’s going on.”

“He tried to steal our camera bag.”, Amy said.

“Who did this to him?”

“I did.”, I said.

“You did this to him! He’s twice your size.”

“Ever hear of karate?”

“Yes.”

“Orange belt, and working on my green.”

Just then Mrs. Benallie walked up, and said, “Deputy, I’ll vouch for her.”

“And you are?”, the deputy asked.

“I’m Mrs. Benallie. I own this shop.”

“How do you know her?”

“She’s a customer and … “

“And what?”

“You’re not an Indian, so you wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.”

Just then another deputy pulled in, got out of his car, and walked over. He had sergeant stripes on his sleeve. He looked at the guy on the ground and asked the deputy, “John, what happened?”

The first deputy said, “Sarge, these girls claim that this guy tried to steal their camera bag.”

“And who did this to him?”

Pointing at me, he said, “She says she did.”

Looking at me, the sergeant asked, “You did this? And you are?”

“Yes. I’m Kai Nez.”

“Kai Nez. I know that name?”

“You should.”, Mrs. Benallie said. “You’re Navajo aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Then you should know what a Nádleeh is.”

“Oh! She’s that Kai Nez.”

“There’s another one?”, I asked.

“No, miss. Not that I know of.”

“John, get that guy up and handcuff him, so he doesn’t wander off, then we’ll figure this out.”, the sergeant said to the deputy. The deputy got the guy up off the ground and handcuffed him. But he told him that he wasn’t under arrest. Yet.

The two deputies walked out of earshot and talked. Every once in a while the first deputy would look at me. Then they’d talk again. Eventually, they walked back over to us.

“Miss.”, the first deputy said. “From what I just heard, you are someone special to your people. And I tend to believe what you’ve told us about him trying to steal your camera bag.”

“Wait a minute.”, the guy said. “That’s my camera bag. The two of them tried to steal my camera bag.”

“Okay. What kind of camera is in it?”

“It’s just a camera.”

“Just a camera and you keep it in a fancy leather bag like this?”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll see.”

As the deputy started to open the bag, I asked, “Not going to ask us what’s in it?”

“Okay. What kind of camera’s in it?”

“There’s no camera in the bag.”

“What?”

“There’s no camera in it.”

“Then what’s in it?”

“Navajo silver.”

“Navajo silver?”

“Open it and look.”

The two deputies opened the camera bag, looked in, looked at me, looked back inside, then the sergeant asked, “Where did you get all of
this?”

“Some of it was made by my Great-Great-Grandfather Kilchii Nez and some by Sike Yazzie in Taos.”

“How do we know it’s yours?”

“At our apartment in Albuquerque we have a detailed description with pictures of each piece that was done as an insurance appraisal by Mr. Tsinajinnie in Taos. And I can show you the maker’s mark on my Concho belt that matches some, but not all, of the maker’s mark on the silver in the bag.”

“Why do you have so much jewelry with you.”

“We were at the barbecue at the thermal resort north of here and were doing a special presentation last night. Chief Kinlicheeny and other special people were there. So we wanted to look our best.”

When I said Chief Kinlicheeny, the sergeant raised an eyebrow, then said, “Show me these maker’s marks?”

I took off my Concho belt and showed him the maker’s mark on it. Then I told him to pick something out of the bag. Of course, he chose the Concho belt made by Mr. Yazzie, and I showed him the difference in the maker’s marks. Then he picked something else. It was the Concho choker, and I showed him how the maker’s marks matched.”

The sergeant then said, “John, I think she knows what she’s talking about.”

“I think you’re right, Sarge.”

Just then Mrs. Benallie walked up, handed the two officers a copy of today’s Navajo Times, and said, “Officers, you might want to look at this.” And she pointed to the picture on the front page.

The two deputies looked at the picture, and then the sergeant looked at me, and said, “I know that this is the Chief, and this is you. Isn’t it?”

“Yes.”, I replied.

“John, if you’d do the honors of arresting that guy. I’ll get all of the information and do the paperwork.”

The first deputy took the guy and put him in the backseat of his car. And, the sergeant, Amy, Mrs. Benallie, and I walked back into the shop. The first thing the sergeant asked for was identification, so Amy and I handed him our Ohio drivers licenses and our University of New Mexico IDs. The sergeant looked at me, and said, “This says you’re a male.”

“I am a male.”, I replied.

“Okay. You know I’m going to have to use your legal name.”

“I understand. You do know what I Nádleeh is. Don’t you?”

“Yes. I’ve only met one before. But I’ve heard your name and read the articles in the paper.”

We told the sergeant our story, and he wrote it down, we read it over and signed it. He also took statements from Mrs. Benallie and others. Then he said, "I should take the camera bag for evidence."

“I’d want a detailed receipt for it and the contents.”, I said.

“I figured as much.”, the sergeant said. “Let me call the detectives and see what they want to do.”

He called the detectives and explained what was going on. They talked a bit, and while he was on the phone, he asked me what value I’d place on the jewelry?

I said, “I won’t say. But I’ll write it down.”

“Okay.”

I took a piece of paper and wrote something on it. The sergeant looked at it and whistled. Then he told the detective that he was talking to that it was a high four-digit figure. Then the sergeant asked if he could take pictures of the jewelry. I didn’t have a problem with that, so the sergeant got his camera out of his car, and took pictures of each piece of jewelry.

Of course, everyone that was in the store was getting a good look at the jewelry as the sergeant took the pictures. And there were some nice comments.

As the sergeant was leaving, he told us that we might hear from the detectives. We thanked him.

Mrs. Benallie then said, “Girls, I’m so sorry that this happened.”

“Mrs. Benallie, it’s not your fault.”, I said. “It’s my stupid fault. I should have never set that bag down.”

“Kai, please don’t let this hurt our relationship.”

“Mrs. Benallie, there is no way in the world that this would hurt our relationship. I just need to be more careful.”

Mrs. Benallie then hugged me. I sensed something, and I whispered, “I would get that tooth that’s bothering you looked at real soon.”

Mrs. Benallie’s hand went to her cheek, as she said, “How … How did you know?”

I smiled, and said, “Let’s just say that I knew.”

As things calmed down at the shop, we found the clothing that we were going to buy and the newspapers. And I put fifty cents into the box by the papers to pay for them.

Mrs. Benallie was behind the counter, she looked at us, and said, “Kai, we’ve never had anything like this happen before. And I don’t remember ever seeing that guy before.”

“It’s over.”, I said. “Nizhonigó íiná aadóó hozhónahasdlíí. (It is good, and all is harmony around us.)”

“Ahéhee'. (Thank you.) He was twice your size. And you reacted so quickly.”

“Two years of karate helped.”

We’d spent a lot longer at Mrs. Benallie’s shop then we’d planned to. So we paid her for our purchases, and we both received hugs as we were leaving. And it was lunchtime, and I figured that Santa Fe had to have a drive-in or two, so we drove around and found one.

As we ate, Amy asked, “I heard you whisper something to Mrs. Benallie about a bad tooth. Did you feel something?”

“No.”, I replied. “I noticed that her cheek was swollen, and she kept touching it. So I figured that she had a toothache. So I said something.”

“So no feelings from her.”

“No.”

After lunch, we headed south to Albuquerque and the apartment. After we’d pulled the car into the garage, we took the jewelry and put it in the safe. And as I closed the safe door, I said, “I don’t know if I want to take those out of there ever again.”

“Honey!”, Amy said. “Things happen. It was a crime of chance. He was there looking for something to steal, and we were there. If it hadn’t been us, it would have been someone else.”

“You’re right. It just scares the hell out of me that he almost got away with it.”

“I don’t think that he would have. You were out running him. I don’t know if it was adrenaline or what, but you quickly caught up with him.”

“I was just mad.”

“I know. You didn’t hold back with your kicks.”

“I need a shower.”

Amy smiled as she said, “It’s a shame that the shower here isn’t big enough for two.”

“I guess we’ll just need to make sure that we take one when we’re at Aunt Ruth’s again.”

“Go take your shower.”

After I finished my shower, I was back to being Tom. And when I came downstairs, Amy said, “Want to walk to the drugstore with me, I need a few things?”

“Sure.”

We walked over to the drugstore, and as Amy was looking for what she wanted, I was looking around, I picked up a copy of the local paper, and I found that they also carried the Navajo Times.

On the way back to the apartment, I asked, “What would you like to do tonight?”

“Maybe find a good place for a Sunset.”

“Might be good. And it might be relaxing.”

“You need that don’t you?”

“You’d better believe I do.”

When we got back to the apartment, I dug out the information that we’d picked up at both the city’s parks and recreation department and the store that sold camping equipment and started looking. Then I found something. It’s called the Sandia Crest in the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque. I showed it to Amy, and she smiled as she said, “This sounds interesting.”

I then read the details. And I found that there were three ways up there, You could hike it, but that would mean hiking up about five-thousand feet in elevation. Or you could take the tram. Or you could drive up the Sandia Crest National Scenic Highway. The road is full of switchbacks, but from what I read it’s worth the drive.

And when I told Amy that there was an interesting hiking trail that's known for its wildflowers, she said, “Let’s do it.”

We grabbed a quick dinner, changed into hiking gear, and filled the canteens. Then we grabbed our jackets, our cowboy hats, and headed out. A little over an hour later, after a drive up a very curvey road, we were at the Sandia Crest. On the way up we marveled at the views we saw.

We found the wildflower trail, just off the parking lot, and took our time walking it and looking at flowers. Hiking at this elevation, two-miles high, when you're not used to it can be dangerous. We were back to an observation spot well before Sunset, which was at about eight-thirty. We looked at the view from up here, and it was fantastic. We were five-thousand feet above Albuquerque, and it was like you could see forever. And the Sunset was as good as what we’d witnessed at the resort. And we were glad that we’d taken our jackets along it was windy and it got cold.

As we walked back to the car, I said, “I like this place. I think we’ll be back.”

“I know that we’ll be back.”, Amy said. “That one sign showed a number of hiking trails.”

“We’ll stop at that camping equipment store one day, and see if they have information on the trails up here.”

“We’ll also need to get used to the altitude here.”

“I know.”, I said. “I read somewhere that adjusting to a higher altitude could take three to six weeks.

“Now, why don’t we find a drive-in and grab something to drink and maybe some french fries?”

“Sounds good.”, Amy replied.

After we were back in Albuquerque, we drove around and saw a few drive-ins. Then there was one that was crowded, so we picked that one. We drove in and parked. Quickly a carhop ran up and asked what we wanted. I asked him what flavors of milkshakes they had?

He started with, “Almost anything you want. Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, cherry, root beer, ginger ale, pineapple, … ”

“Stop.”, I said. “Did you say ginger ale?”

“Sure did.”

I looked at Amy, and asked, “Ginger ale?”

“Sure thing.”, she said.

I turned to the carhop, and said, “Two ginger ale milkshakes and two orders of french fries.”

“You got it. I’ll be back.”

I looked at Amy, and said, “Maybe we’ve found our favorite drive-in.”

“We’ll see.”, Amy replied.

A short time later our carhop was back with our order. As he hung it on the window, he said, “Enjoy.”

“If these milkshakes are good, you’ll probably be our favorite drive-in while we’re out here.”

“I did notice that you had Ohio plates on the car. I figured you for tourists.”

“Nope. We’re out here for a couple of years working on our master’s degrees at the university.”

“Cool. I’ll be a junior there this fall. What are you’re majors?”

“I’m an electrical engineer, and she's a nurse.”

“My mom’s a nurse at the hospital.”

“Really.”, Amy asked. “What department does she work in?”

“Emergency.”

“Great. That’s where I’m going to be.”

“If you run into a Mrs. Davidson. That’s my mom.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Gotta run.”

And our carhop hurried off. Then Amy said, “Will you give me my milkshake.”

“Sorry.”, I said as I picked up her milkshake and handed it to her. I followed that with her french fries before she could ask.

Then I grabbed my milkshake, stuck a straw in it, and took a good long sip. I looked at Amy who’d just done the same thing, and asked, “Well?”

“This is good.”, Amy replied.

“It’s terrific. If the french fries are as good, I think they’ll make the top of our list.”

“Yeah. A list of two.”

"You've got to start somewhere."

I had the radio on, so we sat, listened to the radio, and enjoyed our snack. When we finished, I turned on the headlights, and the same carhop came running out. He asked, “Well, how was it?”

“You made the top of our list of drive-ins.”, I replied. “The ginger ale milkshakes were great, and the french fries were delicious. I hope your burgers are as good?”

“Great I’ll tell the boss. And the burgers are very good.”

We paid the bill, tipped him, and told him that we’d see him later. He thanked us for the tip, and said, “See you later.”

We headed for the apartment, and as I drove, Amy asked, “Well, have you relaxed.”

“You bet.”, I replied. “A nice drive, a good hike, a gorgeous Sunset, a ginger ale milkshake, and a beautiful woman sitting beside me. What more could I want.”

“I love you.”

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, pulled her close to me, and said, “I love you too, sweetheart.”

When we got to the apartment, we pulled the car into the garage, made sure that the apartment was locked up, and went to bed.