The big news from the barbecue was that Dibe was engaged. Dibe is the native dancer who we gave the first scholarship to. But Dibe wants to talk. She’s worried, that being pre-Med that she may have said yes too quickly.

On Saturday, on the way home, we’d stopped at Mrs. Benallie's clothing shop in Santa Fe. That stop had helped fill our walk-in closet a little. A very little. We’d also learned about awéétsááls or cradleboards.

Later, a walk along the river brought us another Eagle feather. And a nice talk with Lieutenant Zimmerman of the Albuquerque Parks Department and a friend.

The big news at our favorite Albuquerque drive-in was that our favorite carhop was planning on going to Canada, to get away from all the rhetoric about the war.

Sunday, Ajie had worked on and finished her textbook. I’d read the last three chapters, and they were great. But I’m just a little prejudiced. I’d also been able to install the second chime in the master suite. And like the chime in the kitchen, it’s connected to the sensors in the driveway and at the front gate.

Monday, we’d gone into the university to make copies of Ajie’s textbook and lock the original in the fireproof file cabinet in my office. We made one more copy of the textbook than we’d planned to make. Vickie, Ajie’s Dean, wanted to send a copy to a publisher. Maybe Ajie’s textbook is that good.

When we’d been in my office, Dr. Joe had told me that we had a meeting at Los Alamos tomorrow.

On Tuesday morning, just before ten, I walked into my office. Dr. Joe was there, he looked at me, and said, “Well, good morning Miss Nez. I see you’re ready for this meeting.”

“Good morning, Dr. Oshie. How, could you tell?”

“By how you’re dressed.”

“I dress this way every day except when I teach.”

“The skirt, blouse, and moccasins. Yes. The jewelry. No.”

“Oh! Am I overdressed?”

“Never. As long as you don’t mind being looked at when you walk across campus.”

“People look at me!?”

“You know they do. How often do you see a pretty Indian girl, dressed like you’re dressed, going across campus, carrying a briefcase.”

“Never.”

“Oh, come on.”

“I’ve never seen me walk across campus.”

As he shook his head, Dr. Joe said, “Kai!”

We set the alarm, locked up the office, and walked to the Dean’s office. As we walked in, Sara looked up, smiled, and said, “Good morning, Dr. Oshie. Miss Nez.”

“Good morning, Sara.”, both Dr. Joe and I said. And I added, “Why so formal?”

“We have guests.”

I looked over at the seating and saw a man, a woman, and a girl. And I heard the girl whisper to her dad, “Daddy, that’s her.”

“Okay, honey.”, the man whispered back to the girl.

Then Sara said, “The Dean has a meeting and won’t be going with you this morning.”

“I see.”, Dr. Joe said. Then to me, he said, “Kai, do you want to drive, or do you want me to?”

“I can drive.”, I replied.

Just then, the Dean walked out of his office, saw us, and said, “Dr. Oshie. Miss Nez. Good, you’re still here. Did Sara tell you that I won’t be going with you?”

“Yes, sir.”, Dr. Oshie said.

“Would the two of you come into my office for a minute.”

We followed the Dean into his office, and as he closed the door, he said, “Miss Nez. I’ve heard from Los Alamos. And they are no longer working with the people who caused so much trouble.”

“We’ll see how that works out.”, I said a little sarcastically.

“Kai, give them a chance.”, Dr. Joe said.

“I will. One last time.”, I replied. Then I said, “Dean, who was it? Or wouldn’t they tell you?”

“I think you know the answer to that, Miss Nez.”, the Dean said.

“I do. They didn’t.”

He just nodded yes, then said, “I’d also like you to meet some people before you leave.”

We followed the Dean back out to the waiting room, and over to the three people who were seated. As we walked up, they stood, and the Dean said, “Colonel Pratt, Mrs. Pratt, and Miss Pratt, this is Dr. Oshie and Miss Kai Nez.”

We greeted each other, and then the Dean said, “Dr. Oshie is a Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department and is also a researcher. Miss Nez is an Instructor in the Electrical Engineering Department, and she is also working on her doctoral, and also holds a Research Associate position with the university.

“Dr. Oshie and Miss Nez, Miss Pratt is looking at universities and has an interest in electronics.”

“Really, Miss Pratt. Looking to break into the male world?”, I said.

“Miss Nez.”, Miss Pratt said. “I’ve heard about you and what you’ve done.”

I said, “It’s taken a lot of work to do it and be accepted. I hope that you’re prepared to do that.” Then I thought, “How did you hear about me?”

“Yes, Miss Nez, I am.”

“Miss Nez.”, the Colonel asked. “May I asked where you went to school?”

“Ohio State.”

“Good school.”

“Yes, sir, it is.”

“She also graduated Cum Laude.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Impressive.”, the Colonel said.

“Thank you, sir.”, I said.

“I’d invite Dr. Oshie and Miss Nez to have lunch with us.”, the Dean said. “But they have a meeting to go to. They’re working on a research project for the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and they need to meet with some of their people.”

“A non-military research project.”, I added.

“Yes, Miss Nez.”

“Again, I’m impressed that your working with them.”, the Colonel said.

“Thank you, sir.”, Dr. Joe said. “We need to go, or we’ll be late.”

“It was nice meeting you, Dr. Oshie and Miss Nez.”, the Colonel said.

“And it was nice meeting you, your wife, and your daughter, Colonel Pratt. And hopefully, we’ll see Miss Pratt in our program.”

With that, Dr. Joe and I left the Dean’s office, and as we walked to the faculty parking lot Dr. Joe said, “Why did you say that?”

“Say what?”, I asked.

“That our research project is non-military.”

“Well, it is.”

“Yeah. But you emphasized military.”

“I did?”

“Yes.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Sorry.”, I said.

“The Dean even rolled his eyes.”

“I’ll apologize to him when we get back.”

“I would just drop it. Unless the Dean says something.”

“Okay.”

After we were in the car and heading to Los Alamos, Dr. Joe said, “Kai, you’re going to need to learn when not to say things like you did.”

“I’m sorry.”, I replied. “But, I’m just not the military type, and I’m uncomfortable around some of them. I just didn’t like Colonel Pratt.”

“I know. I didn’t feel good about him either.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I don’t know why, but there was just something about him.”

“I know. I couldn’t put my finger on it either.”

“Do we have time to stop in Santa Fe for lunch?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Sure. We go right through it.”, I replied.

“So, where do we eat?”

“I like the Pink Adobe or The Shed.”

“Your pick.”

“Let’s do The Shed. I’m not sure the Pink Adobe is open for lunch or not.”

“Lead on, Macduff.”

After a nice leisurely lunch at The Shed, we drove on to Los Alamos. And after going through the usual security, we were sitting in the waiting area waiting on someone to come and get us.

We’d waited about ten minutes when Dr. Fontheim walked in. He looked at us and said, “Dr. Oshie and Miss Nez, I’m happy to see you. Where’s Dean Rutherford?”

“He had something come up, and had to cancel.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Probably for the best.”

“Oh!”

“What we have to talk to you about is secret bordering on top secret. And he couldn’t have been in the room.”

“That’s interesting.”, I said.

We followed Dr. Fontheim down a hall and to a small conference room. There was a sign on the door that said, ‘Recording devices and cameras are strictly forbidden in this room.’

Dr. Fontheim opened the door for us, and we walked in to find Dr. Höllmann, who is the head of research for Los Alamos, and Dr. Millman, who is one of the Assistant Directors of the laboratory. We greeted each other, then sat at a small conference table.

Dr. Millman was the first to speak, and he said, “Dr. Oshie. Miss Nez. I assume that Dr. Fontheim has told you that this project is very hush-hush.”

“Yes, sir. He has.”, Dr. Oshie said.

“Good. What you’re going to hear and see here today is not to be spoken of except in your secure office. And no one, not even Dean Rutherford, can be present when you are working on this project. Or can they know anything, anything at all, about what you’re doing. Is this understood.”

Dr. Joe said, “Yes, sir.”

Dr. Fontheim looked at me and said, “Miss Nez?”

“Yes, sir. I understand.”, I said.

“Good. This has to do with National security and needs to be completed as quickly as possible. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”, Dr. Joe and I said.

“Good. Dr. Fontheim, they’re all yours.”

“Dr. Oshie and Miss Nez, we are delighted that you will be working on this.”, Dr. Fontheim said. “We know how good your work is. So, we feel that this will be done quickly and accurately.”

Then as he set two folders on the table in front of us, he said, “On the front of these two folders is our usual nondisclosure agreement, and before we go any further, we need you to sign them.”

Dr. Joe and I read over the nondisclosure form, which was like the others, and we both signed them and handed them to Dr. Fontheim.

Then Dr. Höllmann said, “Please read the first five pages, then we’ll talk about this.”

Dr. Joe and I opened the folders and started reading. Each page was stamped with a red ‘Secret.’

When we finished reading, I looked at Dr. Joe. He looked at me. And Dr. Joe said, “Very interesting, gentlemen.”

“Yes, it is.”. Dr. Höllmann said. “So, what do you think?”

“If you’re wondering if we can do this.”, I said. “We can. If you're wondering how long it will take us. I can’t answer that yet. I need to do some work on it first.”

“I agree with Miss Nez.”, Dr. Joe said.

We talked for another hour, and I can’t tell you about that.

Then as we were getting ready to leave, Dr. Höllmann said, “Remember we can’t talk about this on the phone, so if we need to talk, we’d need to set up a meeting.”

“Sounds logical. If we’re in a car can we talk about it?”, I asked.

“If it’s one of your personal cars, yes.”

“Good, so we can talk about this on the way back to the university.”

“Yes.”

“Once we figure out how long it will take us to do this, can we call you?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Yes. Call Dr. Fontheim and just say something like, it’ll take us two weeks.”, Dr. Höllmann said.

Then Dr. Fontheim set a lockable metal briefcase on the table. This one was larger than the other ones that we’d had. Then he handed us each an envelope, and said, “Memorize the combination and then destroy the paper.”

We both opened our envelopes and looked at the paper that was inside. I smiled as I read my combination. Then we unlocked and opened the briefcase and put our two folders inside, then closed and locked the briefcase.

“One last thing.”, Dr. Millman said. “The unit you make will be the one and only. Once it is used, it and anything to do with it will be destroyed. You can build this on a breadboard if you like. We don’t need a printed circuit board designed or used.”

“Yes, sir.”, I said. “That will speed things up a bit.”

Then looking at me, Dr. Millman added, “And, if one of you figures out what the total project is, as I expect one of you will, I’d suggest that you don’t tell anyone and that includes each other.”

Then I said, “Before we leave I want the three of you to know, that if anything happens like what’s happened to me before, I’m just going to walk away from any project that I’m working on for you and wash my hands of anything to do with the Los Alamos National Laboratory.”

“And I’ll be joining her.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Miss Nez. Dr. Oshie.”, Dr. Millman said. “I don’t blame you. And I’ll guarantee both of you that nothing is going to happen.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Dr. Millman.”, I said.

“I hope you do, Miss Nez.”

Then he handed me an envelope and said, “Please give this to Dean Rutherford.”

“I will.”, I replied.

Because we couldn’t open the case as we went back through security, Dr. Fontheim went with us to security and then walked to the car with us. I was going to say something about the phone call that he and I had shared, but I decided not to. We said so long to him and headed back to Albuquerque.

On the way back to the university, the only thing that was mentioned about the project was why they only wanted one of these and why didn’t they want a printed circuit board designed. We also laughed over them using the last four digits of our home phone numbers as the combinations to the briefcase.

Then Dr. Joe and I got talking about the fire tower and the fire watcher. Dr. Joe wanted the whole story. So I started with our first meeting with the fire watcher and seeing the fire watchtower and finishing with this last time and the St. Elmo’s fire.

When we were back at the university, the first thing we did was take the briefcase to the office and lock it in the fireproof file cabinet. This briefcase was bigger than the other ones that we’d had, and it barely fit. Then after setting the alarm and closing and locking the door, we headed to the Dean’s office.

As we walked in, Sara said, “Back already?”

I looked at the clock, and it was four-thirty, so I said, “Six and a half hours seems like it’s just about right.”

She just smiled, picked up the phone, dialed a number, and when it was answered, she said, “Dean Rutherford, Dr. Oshie and Miss Nez are back.” … “Yes, sir, I’ll tell them.”

Then as she hung up the phone, she said, “You can go on back.”

“Thank you, Miss Edwards.”, I replied with a slight smile.

Dr. Joe and I went back to the Dean’s office, and as we went in, the Dean said, “So, what did they have for you?”

“We can’t tell you.”, Dr. Joe said.

Then as I handed him the envelope, I said, “But Dr. Millman gave us this envelope to give to you.”

The Dean opened the envelope, took out some papers, read them over, and said, “So, are we doing this project?”

“Yes, sir.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Good. I’ll sign the agreement and return it to them.

“So, this is a secret project?”

“Yes, sir.”, Dr. Joe replied. “They told us that if you’d have come with us that they would have had to ask you to leave the room while we talked about it.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, sir. And Miss Nez and I talked on the way back, and we feel that she and I should be the only ones with access to our office. That way, no one could say that someone else was in the room.”

“I see.”, Dean Rutherford said. “And you may be right.”

The Dean got up, walked to a closet door, unlocked it, and opened it. We saw a lockbox mounted to a wall in the closet. He took some keys out of his pocket, used one of the keys to open the box, and then he removed one of the keys from the lockbox. He walked over to us, handed a key to Dr. Joe, and said, “As far as I know, this is the only other key to your office besides what you have.”

“They only sent three keys with that high-security lock, so it should be.”, Dr. Joe said. “Now, where do we keep that.”

“I have a good safe at home.”, I said.

“Who knows the combination?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Just Ajie and me.”

“Sounds secure to me.”, Dean Rutherford said.

When Dr. Joe and I left the Dean’s office, I had an envelope in my purse that contained the spare key to our office. As a little bit of security, Dr. Joe followed me home. That way, he could say that he saw me place the key in the safe. Maybe a little overkill, but Dr. Fontheim had said the project had to do with National security.

When we were at the house, I pulled into the garage, and Dr. Joe pulled up behind me. We got out of the cars and walked over to the safe. I heard the door to the house open, and I saw Ajie looking at us with a puzzled look on her face. Then Ajie asked, “Kai, what’s up?”

“Come over here for a minute.”, I said.

As Ajie was walking up, I spun the combination knob to the final number and unlocked the safe. Then I showed the envelope to her and said, “Honey, this is the only spare key to our office, and the Dean had to give it up, and we’re putting it in here for safekeeping.”

“Why?”, Ajie asked.

“All I can say is, and it may be too much, the new project is a secret one, and that’s all we can say. Even the Dean doesn’t know what it is.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Is the safe okay out here.”, Dr. Joe said.

“It’s bolted to the floor. But, we’ve talked about moving it into the walk-in closet in the master suite, but Ajie doesn’t want to do it.”

“Will it fit?”

“Easily.”

Dr. Joe looked at Ajie and said, “It’ll probably be safe out here, but … ”

“I’m more worried about damaging the tile floor when and if we move it.”, Ajie said.

“What’s that thing weigh.”

“About three hundred and fifty pounds.”, I said.

“How’s it anchored to the garage floor?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“With expanding lead anchors placed into holes drilled in the concrete floor at all four anchor holes. And the bolts are half-inch grade five stainless steel with fine threads.”, I replied.

“I’d leave it here. It’s not worth damaging the tile floor.”

“I’ll second that.”, Ajie said.

I placed the envelope in the bottom drawer under some of the silver jewelry. As I did that, Dr. Joe asked, “How much silver jewelry do you guys have?”

“A lot.”, I replied.

“Do you know what you have?”

“Of course. It’s all been appraised, photographed, and insured.”

“I should have known.”

I closed and locked the door, and then I gave the combination knob a spin.

Ajie then said, “Dr. Joe, why don’t you, Mary, and the little guy join us for dinner tonight?”

“That would be fun.”, Dr. Joe said. “Let me call Mary.”

After Dr, Joe called Mary, he ran home and picked up Mary and Mark. Then Ajie and Mary put together a delicious chili con carne. A corn salad, which is roasted sweet corn, chopped tomatoes, and basil with a vinaigrette. And cornbread with pieces of bacon in it. For dessert, we had cut up fruit. And to top it off, little Mark was very good.

Right after Dr. Joe, Mary, and little Mark had left, the phone rang. Ajie answered it, and I heard, “Hello” … “Oh, hi, Dibe.” … “So Thursday will work for you and Hal. That’s great.” … “Not before five. That’ll be fine, and we’ll have dinner.” … “If it gets too late, we have three spare bedrooms, including a hogan.” … “No, the hogan doesn’t have a dirt floor, so no sleeping on the floor.” … “Hold on. I’ll let you talk to Kai. She’s better with giving directions then I am.”

Then Ajie said, “Kai, honey. Would you give Hal directions to the house?”

I took the phone and gave Hal the directions to the house. After we’d said so long, I asked Ajie, “What’s this about getting too late?”

“They won’t be here until five, so Dibe wondered that if we get to talking, and it gets too late if they could stay here.”

“We’ve got the room.”

Wednesday, both Ajie and I went into the university. Me to get started on the new project and Ajie to work a shift in the ER. So we drove separately.

As I walked up to the office, it was dark, so Dr. Joe wasn’t here. I opened the office, turned off the alarm, and relocked the door. I took the briefcase out of the fireproof file cabinet, placed it on the worktable, and unlocked it. Then I carefully removed everything from the briefcase. There were our two folders, several integrated circuits, and a few other parts.

I sat down at the worktable and quickly looked through my folder. I didn’t want any surprises like finding an already completed schematic. There wasn’t one. So, I started reading.

Shortly after I started reading, I heard a key in the door, and in walked Dr. Joe carrying a cup of coffee from the faculty dining room. He just looked at me, closed and locked the door, and went to his desk. I looked at him, and he didn’t look happy.

“You didn’t break your coffee maker again. Did you?”, I asked.

“Yes, I did.”, Dr. Joe said. “I bumped the damn carafe, it broke, and the glass went everywhere.”

“We’ll go get you a new one at lunch, and we’ll try to find something that’s unbreakable.”

“You mean Dr. Joe proof?”, Dr. Joe said.

I smiled and said, “Yes, Dr. Joe proof.”

“Have you gotten any idea what this project is supposed to do?”

“Not yet. I just looked at everything that was in the case and have just gotten into the documentation.”

“Well, I guess I’d better do the same thing.”

“Oh, Ajie and I have company coming Thursday afternoon, so I’ll be leaving about one.”

“Okay.”

“Plus Friday is the last barbecue of the year, and I won’t miss that for anything. But I’ll come in early on Friday and leave at Noon. Okay?”

“Last barbecue.”, Dr. Joe said. “I know how you feel about those. So, no, problem here.”

Dr. Joe and I worked, as in reading the documentation on the project, until about Noon. Then we drove downtown, found him a bulletproof coffee maker, stopped at the drive-in for lunch, and then went back to work.

As the afternoon wore on, I was getting ideas as to what we needed to do, and what this unit might be for.

Dr. Joe and I decided to call it a day at about five. And I told him that I’d be in around seven the next morning.

I was home about a half an hour before Ajie was, and had started dinner. After dinner, we sat in the courtyard, and I went over the things for the classes that I’d taught last year, and I didn’t find any problems with what I’d used. So it should be good for this year, but I’d still keep my eyes open for anything new.

The two new classes that I’d picked up, Independent Study in Electrical Engineering, were as they were titled, the student did an independent project. There were two levels, one that anyone could take and one that was an honors-level class in which you had to be carrying a B+ or better average to take the course. With the honors level class, the student was expected to do a project that was above average.

The only thing that I saw that needed to be changed on the handout for the Independent Study classes was to replace Dr. Joe’s name with mine. We had the same extension and the same office — a project for Sara to do.

Thursday, I was on campus and in the office at seven in the morning. On the way in this morning, I’d had an idea that I wanted to put on paper. So, when Dr. Joe walked in at eight o’clock, I was working on a schematic for this one of a kind module.

Dr. Joe looked at me and said, “Good morning Kai. It looks like you came up with an idea.”

“I did.”, I replied. “And it looks like the new coffee maker is working.”

“Mary was happy with the new coffee maker and its metal carafe.”

“You won’t break that one.”

“So, what’s with the circuit?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“It’s a little complicated.”, I replied. “But, easily doable. I should have the schematic done by the time I leave today. Then you can look it over and see if I missed anything.”

“Sounds good. Oh, great one.”

“Yeah, right. Now, I’ve got to run to the Dean’s office and see Sara about something I need for the independent study classes.”

I ran down to the Dean’s office and told Sara what I needed. She told me that she’d handle it and that it should be done on Monday. I thanked her.

I ran back to the office and went back to work on the schematic. And I worked through lunch. At a little before one, I sat back, looked over the schematic, and said, “Dr. Joe. Have a good look at this schematic, and if it looks good, we can gather all the pieces and parts we need tomorrow and start building on Monday.”

“You sure figured this thing out in a hurry.”, Dr. Joe said.

“As you’ll see, it’s fairly straight forward with a few twists and turns that make it special.”, I replied.

“Any idea what this thing is for?”

“Not one-hundred percent. It would help if we knew what the other parts of the complete circuit were.”

“They’re smart in spreading the various parts out to various researchers.”

“They are.”, I said. “Okay. I’m out of here. And I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“And you’re going to the resort tomorrow. Right?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Right. But I’ll be here until Noon.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

“Hágoóneeʼ - (See you later), Dr. Joe.”

I headed home with a stop at the grocery store to pick up a list of things that Ajie wanted for dinner tonight. At about two, I pulled into the driveway and up to the house. And there was a strange car parked in the driveway. I pulled into the garage and grabbed the bag of groceries out of the car. Ajie didn’t meet me at the door.

As I walked into the house, I heard voices, woman’s voices. I walked into the kitchen, and Ajie was sitting at the breakfast bar with Mrs. Biakeddy and Mrs. Deschinny from the Navajo Children and Family Services. Ajie looked at me and said, “Good, you’re home. We have company.”

“So, I see.”, I said. “Yá’át’ééh – (It is good), Mrs. Biakeddy and Mrs. Deschinny. To what do we owe the honor of this visit?”

Yá’át’ééh, Kai Nez.”, Mrs. Biakeddy said. “We always like to make a surprise home visit, so we took a chance that one of you would be here, and we stopped. Come and join us.”

“Let me put these groceries away, and I will.”

I quickly put the groceries away, then walked over and joined the others at the breakfast bar. And Mrs. Biakeddy said, “We do these surprise visits to see what the house is really like. And I wasn’t surprised when we found it almost like it was when we were here last.”

“I’m not surprised that you do things like this either.”, I said.

“We were delighted with our formal visit and the answers that you had to our questions. And now that you’re here, I can tell both of you that yesterday we presented your application and our findings to the selection committee. And I’m happy to tell you both that they approved your request for adoption.”

I saw Ajie's face light up with a big smile, and I think mine did too. Then Ajie said, “That’s wonderful.”

“Yes.”, I said. “That is wonderful.”

“I’m glad you feel that way.”, Mrs. Biakeddy said. “We know that you have no preference as to age and sex. Correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”, Ajie said.

“Good. We may have something for you. Mrs. Deschinny, would you care to explain.”

“We feel that since you are a young couple, that you may be perfect for this.”, Mrs. Deschinny said. “There is a young Navajo girl who is currently pregnant. She’s fifteen and will be sixteen in a few days, and she just entered her third trimester. So, it will be about three months until she delivers.

“And she has elected to give up the children.”

“You said, children.”, Ajie said.

“Yes, she’s having twins.”, Mrs. Deschinny said.

“Twins!?”

“Yes. And we’d like to keep the children together if at all possible, and it’s also the birth mother's request.”

Ajie looked at me. I looked at Ajie. And, Ajie asked, “Kai, what do you think?”

“Well.”, I said. “It would quickly double the size of our family.”

“It would. Do you think we could handle it?”

“I think we could.”

“With newborns, I’d have to take a leave of absence. And that shouldn’t be a problem. Plus, we’d have time to plan.”

“What about the father?”, I asked.

“He’s completely out of the picture.”, Mrs. Deschinny said. “When he found out that she was pregnant, he dropped her like a hot potato, and he’s now in the military.”

“Nice guy. Not! Is he a Navajo?”

“Yes, he is. His parents own a business in the Taos area.”

“And he just deserted her.”

“Yes.”

I just shook my head in disgust.

“Being a health care professional.”, Ajie said. “I’d like to know if she’s receiving proper pregnancy health care? And if she isn’t and we decide to accept this, I think we’d be willing to pay for her care.”

I saw Mrs. Biakeddy and Mrs. Deschinny look at each other, then Mrs. Biakeddy said, “That’s a wonderful offer. But her parents are paying for that right now. And we feel that she's receiving good care.”

Then Ajie asked, “What about the birthing and hospital care afterward?”

“That hasn’t been discussed with her or her parents yet.”

Ajie looked at me, and I said, “As Ajie said, if we decide to accept this, it would be something that we’d be willing to pick up for her.”

“We’d have to discuss that with her and her parents since she’s a minor.”

“Do you know if the twins are boys or girls?”, I asked.

“No, we don’t.”, Mrs. Biakeddy said. “But we know that the girl has chosen two girl’s names and two boy’s names.”

“Are they Navajo names?”

“Yes. They're Navajo names. But if you adopt them, especially at this age, you are free to choose their names.”

“Can you tell us the names?'”, I asked.

“I don’t think either of us knows them.” Mrs. Biakeddy said. “But we’ll try and find out.”

“We’d appreciate that.”

Then I asked, “Can you tell us anything about her?”

“We can tell you a little.”, Mrs. Deschinny said. “She’s from a good family and one of three children. And she’d like to be a teacher. And that was one of the things that came into her decision about keeping the babies. Which was a tough decision for her.

“Her grades are excellent. So there’s a good chance that she could get into a good college. Her parents have a large horse farm near Taos, and she, until the pregnancy got in the way, showed horses.”

I got a strange feeling. A feeling that I knew this girl. Then Ajie and I looked at each other, then I looked at the two women and said, “I know that you can’t tell us her name. But what if we tell you her name?”

“I don’t think you can.”, Mrs. Deschinny said.

“But if we can?”

“I guess we could acknowledge it.”

“Is her first name Shideezhi and do they call her Dee.”, I said.

I saw Mrs. Deschinny’s eyes get big as she stammered, “Y … Y … Yes.”

“And is her last name, Hatayhli?”

“How do you know this?”, Mrs. Biakeddy asked.

“Let me tell you a story.”, I said. “You both know that I’m a Nádleeh – (two spirit person). Don’t you?”

Both women nodded yes.

I continued with, “I’m also not a healer. But, one day last February, Ajie called me and asked me to come to the emergency room. A young girl had fallen off her horse, and along with a couple of broken bones, she had a concussion. And the doctors were worried that she’d never wake up.

“Her parents had seen Ajie and me at the gathering the previous November and had heard that I was a Nádleeh. Then they recognized Ajie when they saw her in the emergency room. They pleaded with her to see if I’d see their daughter.

“Ajie and I met with her parents, and I explained that I wasn’t a healer, but they pleaded with me to just see her. And being soft-hearted, I finally agreed. The nursing supervisor in intensive care is a Navajo and a friend. Ajie talked with her and made arrangements for me to sit with the girl.

“As I sat with her, I felt her strong spirit. And I held her hand and chanted. I spent two hours with her. And in the end, I wasn’t sure that I’d done anything.

“A couple of days later, we got a call from Ajie’s friend, the nurse in intensive care, and she told us that the Hatayhli girl had recovered. I’d also had dreams about the Yei spirits. You know that the Yei spirits, among other things, have healing powers. Don’t you?”

The two women slowly nodded, yes.

Then Mrs. Biakeddy said, “So you may have healed the girl with the help of the Yei spirits?”

Ajie then said, “As Kai’s mother always says, the Great Spirit moves in strange ways.”

“Yes, He does. So what do you want to do?”

“I think Ajie and I need to talk this over.”, I said. “And I’d like to see the girl.”

“We can’t do that.”, Mrs. Biakeddy said. “She has requested not to meet the adoptive parents.”

“Haven’t I already met her?”

“I guess you have.”

“But she was heavily sedated, and she never saw me.”

“What about her parents?”

“Them I’ve met.”

“So, why would you like to meet her?”, Mrs. Biakeddy asked.

“I don’t want to meet, but just be close to her.”, I replied.

“What will that do?”

“I’ve felt her spirit once before. So I’ll probably feel it again, plus I should be able to feel the spirits of the two babies. And that will tell me a lot.”

“I’m sorry but we can’t allow that.”

“I see.”, I said. “Give Ajie and me this weekend to talk over the twins' thing, and we’ll let you know for sure on Monday.”

“That will be just fine.”, Mrs. Biakeddy said.

Then looking at me, Mrs. Deschinny said, “Miss Nez, you are making this adoption one of the most interesting adoptions that I’ve ever been part of.”

I smiled and said, “I hope that’s a good thing, Mrs. Deschinny.”

“It is.”, Mrs. Biakeddy said.

“Oh, one more thing.”, I said. “We understand that there’s a scholarship for the mothers.”

“Yes, there is.”

“If we do the adoption with this girl, we’ll put some money in it for her.”, I said.

“That would be wonderful.”, Mrs. Biakeddy said.

A short time later, as Ajie and I watched the ladies drive down the driveway, I said, “That was a very interesting meeting. How long were they here before I got here?”

“Only about fifteen minutes.”, Ajie replied. “But I’m a little worried about knowing the children's mother.”

“We don’t know her.”

“You do. But I guess it’s only her spirit that you know.”

“It is. Now, do you really want to handle two newborn babies?”

Ajie smiled and said, “I’ll love it.”

“I figured as much.”, I said. “Come on. Dibe and Hal will be here in an hour, and we need to get dinner started.”

“Did you get everything that I asked you to get?”

“Of course.”

Ajie and I started putting together what else but fry bread tacos with fried ice cream for dessert. Ajie put together the taco fixing while I made ice cream balls and put them in the freezer. And we talked about having two babies while we worked.

Then just before five, we heard a ding from the chime, and Ajie said, “I think our guests are here.”

We waited until we heard the ding-dong, and then we started walking towards the front door. Just before we got to the door, we heard the doorbell ring. I opened the front doors, and Dibe and Hal were standing there, and Ajie and I said, “Yá’át’ééh. Tʼáá shǫǫdí wóshdę́ę́’. - (It is good. Please come in.)”

Dibe was wide-eyed and said, “This is your house!?”

“Yes, honey it is.”, Ajie said. “Come on in.”

They walked in, and both of them just kept looking around and taking it all in. We took them into the big room, and Dibe said, “I thought we’d gotten lost, but then I saw the name ‘Nez’ on the mailbox. I knew we were in the right place.”

“Would you like a tour?”, I asked.

“You bet.”, Hal said.

Ajie and I gave them the tour of the house, and when they saw the hogan, they were amazed. We took them inside, and I lit a couple of the lanterns so they could see the inside. Hal said, “I’ve been in a couple of hogans out in the Nation, and they are nothing like this.”

“We know. We’ve seen them too. We used the plans of the original owners of the house to build this one. Plus, we let the builder, who is their son, have almost free rein on the inside.”

I extinguished the lanterns, and we went into the back courtyard, and Ajie said, “This is our favorite room. It faces west, and we love to sit out here and just watch the night sky.”

“You have a wonderful home.”, Hal said.

“Thanks. It only has one minor drawback.”

“What’s that?”

“My boss lives right next door.”

“Your boss!?”, Hal said.

“Yes, Dr. Lingham, the president of the university, and his family are right next door.”, I replied.

“Did you know that when you bought this place?”

“No, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.”

“How far are you out of Albuquerque?”, Hal asked.

“We’re twenty minutes from the university and just outside the city limits. No light pollution and no city noise.”

“I saw the mountains as we came in. Is that the Sandia Crest?”

“Yes, and we’re less than five minutes from the tramway. And up there, you are higher than you are in Denver.”

“Have you been up there?”

“Yes, many times. We’ve only used the tram once. We prefer to drive up. And we do that because we’re usually going hiking, and we figure that they wouldn’t like our guns on the tram.”

“You carry guns when you hike?”

“Yes, there are bears up there. And mountain lions have also been spotted a couple of times.”

“Have you ever had to shoot a bear?”, Dibe asked.

“Thank the Great Spirit we’ve never had to shoot one of the mountain people. And once we were around a mother bear with two cubs.”, Ajie replied.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Come on, Dibe, help me make fry bread tacos.”

“Frybread tacos!”, Hal said. “I haven’t had one of those in a long time.”

“We make them all the time. And Kai, you can make the fry bread.”

“On it.”, I said. “Hal, come and help me.”

“I can’t cook.”, Hal replied.

“Yes, you can. I’ll teach you.”

As Ajie and Dibe were cooking up the meat for the tacos and mixing it in with all the other goodies, I showed Hal how to make fry bread. To start with and to check that the oil was hot enough, we made a couple of small pieces of fry bread. We’d take a small piece of dough, flatten it out, and put it in the hot oil. Then after a few seconds, we’d flip it over. Then we’d take it out of the oil, and let it cool and try it. Hal tried the first one and said, “Oh. That is so good all by itself.”

Ajie looked at him and said, “It’s Kai’s aunt’s recipe. Just wait until you taste the whole taco.”

“I don’t know if I can wait.”

“You’d better wait.”, Dibe said to Hal.

Well, it wasn’t long until we were sitting at the dining room table, enjoying the fry bread tacos. And Hal couldn't say enough good things about them, including how they were better than what his mom makes. I promised never to tell his mom that he’d said that.

For dessert, we put together the fried ice cream with honey drizzled over it. And that was well received.

After we finished dinner, we let the dishwasher clean up the mess as we went out into the back courtyard. Dibe and Hal sat on the small couch, and Ajie and I sat on the big one. Ajie and I had sangria to drink. And Dibe and Hal had pop.

I started the conversation with, “Well, Hal, we’ve heard that you’ve asked our favorite dancer to marry you.”

“I guess I have.”, Hal replied. “Dibe surprised me when she told me that you wanted to talk with us. I know she’s nervous about me asking her to marry me. And I hope that you can calm her nerves.”

“It’s hard to calm the nerves of a bride to be.”, Ajie said. “It comes with the territory.

“Dibe has told us that her concern is being pre-Med and having this in the back of her mind. She also told us that your pre-Law. How are your grades?”

“They’re very good, not quite as good as Dibe’s, but close.”

“That’s good to hear.”, I said. “Has she told you about the scholarship that she has?”

“Yes. And I understand how much it means to her.”

“I’m glad. She means a lot to us. And we want to see her succeed.”

“I do too. But why is she so important to you?”

“Has she told you much about us.”

“Only that you are terrific friends.”, Hal said. “Plus, you, Kai, are a Nádleeh. Which I don’t know too much about.”

I looked at Dibe, and she said, “I figured that if you wanted him to know more than you’d tell him.”

I looked back at Hal and said, “Hal, I don’t know everything there is to know about being a Nádleeh either, and I figure that I never will.

“But, being a two spirit person is, to say the least, interesting. When Ajie and I first came out here a few years ago, I knew very little about two spirit people. But a medicine man, Naainish Yazzie, has taught both Ajie and me a lot.

“One thing that Ajie quickly picked up on was that I was a boy with a very strong female spirit.”

“Wait a minute.”, Hal said. “A boy with a female spirit?”

“Yes, Hal.”, Ajie said. “Kai is a man. A wonderful man. He sees things in people before they see it in themselves. When we met you at the gathering, Kai picked up on your feelings for Dibe and her feelings for you.

“And the reason Dibe is special to us is that Kai felt her drive to excel, not only in her dancing but in her studies. Kai felt that Dibe had the drive to do well in becoming a doctor.”

“But … But you can’t be a guy.”, Hal said. “Everyone sees you as a girl.”

“Hal.”, I said. “Remember, I said that I have a very strong female spirit. She needs to be seen. She needs to help her people. So, when I’m here in the Navajo Nation, she needs to be out, so I become her.

“And one of the times that I was out here, I became her and did a photoshoot for the resort. They wanted to pay me, but I told them that I’d rather give the money to a deserving Navajo student to help further their education.

“That’s when we learned about Dibe Bylilly and her trying to save money for college. And we gave that money to her.

“We had also met a Clan Chief by the name of Nastas Todachine, and we were taken by him. When he passed Ajie and I started a scholarship in his name to honor him. And we chose Dibe as the first recipient of the scholarship. And that was because of how we felt about her.”

Hal sat there, taking all of this in. Then he said, “I’ve heard about there being a special Nádleeh. And that’s you. Isn’t it?”

“That’s what they tell me.”, I replied.

“And you knew about us before we knew about ourselves.”

“Could be. But, Dibe brought you to the gathering, so maybe she knew something then.

“So, do you understand why Dibe is so special to us?”

“Yes.”, Hal said. “And I think that the two of you are special to her too.”

Dibe had been quiet through all of this, and she said, “Yes, Kai and Ajie are special to me. Not because of the scholarship, but because of who they are.”

“I can see that. And this is why you want to talk us out of being engaged.”

“No, Hal.”, I said. “That’s the farthest thing from our minds. You know that the two of you are meant to be together. And we know that too.

“You two have chosen two very intense courses of study, pre-Med and pre-Law. And we don’t want either of you to falter in your chosen careers. We want you to make the right decisions.

“Should you marry? Should you become engaged? Yes, to both of those questions. But, and there’s always a but. You need to take that path slowly along with supporting each other.

“Ajie and I were married between our freshman and sophomore years of college.”

“Whoa!”, Hal said. “You two aren’t cousins.”

“No, Hal.”, Dibe said. “They’re husband and wife.”

“Wow!”

“Too much Hal?”, Ajie asked.

“Not really.”, Hal replied. “But it’s a lot to take in.”

“It is. Tommy is Kai’s male spirit, and I lived next door to Tommy for a number of years. And I sensed that there was something special about him. And we feel that we actually fell in love in junior high school. And being apart through the four years of high school proved it to our parents and us.”

“Dibe.”, I said. “Knowing your dad, he’s going to take it like the father he is. He’s going to see Hal as the big bad boyfriend trying to take his little girl.”

“Tell me about it.”, Dibe said.

“But, if he’s approached the correct way, he’ll see it for what it is and come to accept it.

“You’re right in thinking that your mother and grandmother know. Mothers have a way of knowing these things.”

“You think?”, Dibe asked.

“Yes, Dibe.”, Ajie said. “Mothers know these things — especially the girl’s mother.

“Don’t rush into the marriage. It will come in its own good time. But, since you have made the commitment, don't hide it. The two of you need to sit down with your parents and talk to them.”

“But what do we say?”, Hal asked.

“Hal.”, I said. “Those words will come to you when they need to.”

I watched as Dibe pulled the fine gold chain out from the neck of her blouse, undid the clasp, remove the engagement ring, and handed it to Hal. As she gave the ring to him, she said, “Hal, put this on my finger again.”

Hal took the ring from Dibe, slid off the couch, and down on one knee. Then he took Dibe’s left hand in his left hand, and as he slipped the ring onto her left ring finger, he said, “Dibe Bylilly, I love you with all my heart. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife.”

We saw tears in Dibe’s eyes, as she said, “Yes, Ata’halne Uskilith, as the Great Spirit, Kai Nez, and Ajie Nez are my witnesses, I will be more than happy to be your wife.”

Hal got back up on the couch, and they kissed.

I whispered to Ajie, “I think we’d better leave them alone for a few minutes.”

Without another word, Ajie and I got up and went into the master suite. I picked up two rugs and set them on the bed. And Ajie asked, “Going to meditate. Aren’t you?”

“No.”, I said. “I thought that all four of us would meditate.”

We gave Dibe and Hal another couple of minutes alone, and then we rejoined them. When we walked back out into the courtyard, I was carrying two rugs, and Dibe and Hal were holding each other.

As we walked up to them, they both looked at us, and I said, “Would the two of you like to meditate with us?”

“Yes.”, Dibe said.

“I don’t think I’ve ever done anything like that.”, Hal said.

“Hal!”, I said. “You’re a Navajo and have never meditated?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, there’s always a first time.”

“Okay.”

“Good. Now help me lay a fire in the fire pit.”

“Ah. … ”

“Don’t tell me. You’ve never laid a fire either?”

“I haven’t.”

“Another first.”

I laid the two rugs on either side of the fire pit. Then I took Hal over to the rack of wood. I handed him eight of the larger pieces of wood and told him to take them over to the fire pit. Then I picked up some tinder, which was some small pieces of wood and some lint from the clothes drier. Then I picked up some pieces of wood that were bigger than the tinder, but smaller than the big pieces of wood that I kept around for kindling. I then picked up a long match and something to strike it on.

I walked over to the fire pit and knelt on one of the rugs. Then I said, “Watch and learn.”

I made a pile of the tinder in the bottom of the fire pit. I placed the small pieces of wood on top of the dryer lint. Then I laid the kindling in a small t-pee shape over the tinder. Finally, I placed the larger pieces of wood in a t-pee shape over the tinder and kindling.

Then I said, “Hal, would you like to light the fire.”

“Sure.”, Hal said. And he knelt next to me.

I showed Hal where to place the match once it was lit. Hal then struck the match and put the burning tip right where I showed him. The dryer lint was quickly burning, followed by the rest of the tinder, then the kindling started to burn, and the bigger pieces of wood followed that.

As I was showing Dibe and Hal where to sit, Dibe asked, “Are there spirits here, Kai.”

“Yes.”, I replied. “When we did the house blessing, we brought some of the ashes from the bonfire at the resort and built the first fire on them. That way, the spirits knew that they were welcome. And we did the same for the fire pit in the hogan, but with ashes from this fire.”

Dibe and Hal sat on one side of the fire, and Ajie and I sat on the other side. I explained to Dibe and Hal, to just relax and concentrate on the fire, which they did. I began a chant that I heard in my mind, and Ajie followed me. It wasn’t a long chant, but it was a good one.

When I finished, I looked across the fire, and Dibe and Hal were sitting there, their eyes were closed, and they were holding hands. I glanced at Ajie, and she was looking at them too. She looked at me and smiled. I returned the smile.

Finally, Dibe and Hal opened their eyes and looked at Ajie and me. And Hal said, “That was interesting.”

“It was.”, Dibe added.

“I thought that you’d find it interesting.”

As we got up from the fire, Dibe said, “Ah, guys.”

“Yes.”, Ajie said.

“It’s getting a little too late to … to ah drive back to Santa Fe.”

“You want to spend the night?”

“Could we?”

“Sure, there are two bedrooms that aren’t used yet.”

“Ah. Could we sleep in the hogan?”

I saw Ajie smile as she said, “Yes.”

As we were getting Dibe and Hal settled into the hogan, and I was lighting a fire in the fire pit, I said, “I may not be here when you get up in the morning. I need to go to the university early so that we can come to the barbecue at the resort.”

“Kai.”, Hal said, “Thank you for everything. You’ve opened my eyes to some things and helped me see Dibe in a new light. As well as finding out some more about my Navajo heritage.”

“My pleasure, Hal. But we do ask that you keep the things that you heard about Ajie and me to your selves.”

“No, problem. I’ve accepted who you are and why you are who you are. And it’s amazing how Ajie accepts you.”

“Like Dibe, Ajie is a special person.”

We said good night to our two guests.

As Ajie and I were walking out of the hogan, I heard Hal whisper to Dibe, “I still can believe that Kai is a guy.”

“Most people that know can’t believe it either.”, we heard Dibe whisper back.

Ajie must have also heard the exchange between Dibe and Hal because she held my arm and whispered, “And, I’m glad that you are the way you are.”