Naainish’s family, his Aunt Hozhona, her daughter Haloke, Haloke’s husband Ashkii, and their daughter Johona stayed with us, so they didn’t have to drive down from Taos to see him.

I tried to find out about the upcoming car show. Earlier this year, I’d spoken to the owner of one of the Chevy dealers in town. We’d talked about me taking my ‘57 Chevy Bel Air to the show and parking it next to his, which was a souped-up twin of mine. But when I stopped in to see him, he didn’t remember anything about it. Then I talked with Chief Clah about the show, and he suggested that I speak to my Dean, Dean Rutherford, about it. He made Ajie and me instant members of the Albuquerque Classic Car Club and gave us a slot at the show for the Corvette.

I was up early and at the university on Friday morning. Why? Today I make my TV debut. The worst thing about it is Ajie can’t be with me, she’s teaching.

I walked into the office at about seven in the morning. I pulled the metal briefcase that Dr. Clark from N.A.S.A. had given me out of the fireproof file cabinet. I opened it and removed everything except the schematic, the breadboard circuit, the printed circuit board that I’d designed and built, and the full guidance system board. Everything else went back into the file cabinet.

I then walked over to the Audio Visual Department and the TV studio. When I walked in, Mr. Hunter and Miss Foster were there, and Miss Foster said, “Oh good, Miss Nez, you’re here early.”

“I am?”, I replied,

“Yes. We have a good video and audio feed of the launch. The audio is from N.A.S.A.'s mission control. And we’re already feeding it campus-wide.” and she pointed to a monitor. The monitor showed Apollo 7 sitting on the launch pad.

Then Miss Foster said, “Let’s go to the studio, and you can set up.”

I followed her down a hall and into a room. There were four people in the room, and I was introduced to them, they were the camera operators, the microphone boom operator, and the floor director.

The room was a little sparse. There was a desk with a curtain backdrop behind it and a bunch of electronic equipment that included two television cameras and a boom microphone. There was a TV set on a stand, and the picture was of the Apollo 7 spacecraft on top of the Saturn 1B launch vehicle. At the back of the room was a glass window with a clock above it, and I could see someone behind the window.

Miss Foster said, “I’ll be in the control room directing the show. There’ll be a floor director, two camera people, and a boom operator in here with you. That monitor over there shows the feed to the campus, and we’ll turn the monitor off when you go live so you can’t see yourself. And we’re planning on going live with you at eight-thirty.

“Pay attention to the floor director. To start with, they will give you a count down to when you go live. Then just do your thing, and when you’re finished, just say something like, ‘Now we’ll go back to the live feed from Cape Kennedy.’ Got it?”

“Got it.”, I said.

“And when you’re holding something, hold it as still as possible. That way, we can get a closeup of it. Any questions?”

“Not yet.”

I walked over to the desk, set the briefcase on it, opened it, and took out the three circuits and schematic, and set them on the desk. The briefcase went on the floor. One of the people in the room walked over and looked at the boards. Then he asked, “What are these for?”

“They’re part of the guidance system of the Apollo spacecraft.”

“Cool. But why are they here?”

“We designed and built part of the system here at the university. And I’m going to talk about that before the launch.”

“I’m a senior electrical engineering major. Are you the girl that I’ve heard that is teaching electronics?”

“Yes.”

“You know. I think that’s the coolest thing.”

“Thanks.”

We sat there and watched the feed from Cape Kennedy. At eight-twenty-five, we heard someone say, “Five minutes.”

I looked around, and there were people at both cameras and the boom microphone. Plus, the floor director was there. Everyone was wearing headsets.

Then the nerves hit me. I closed my eyes, took a couple of deep breathes. And I felt a calm come over me.

I moved over next to the desk and watched as they moved the cameras and boom microphone to where they wanted them.

Just before eight-thirty, the TV set on the stand went black, and a red light on one TV camera came on. I looked at the floor director, and she pointed to the camera with the red light, then she held up her hand and said, “Five, four, three, two, one.” Then she pointed at me.

I took a deep breath and said, “Good morning. My name is Kai Nez, and I’m a member of the faculty of the Electrical Engineering Department. This morning we’re here to watch the launch of the first flight of the Apollo spacecraft since the tragic fire that killed Astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, an original Mercury astronaut, Ed White II, and Roger Chaffee who were on board the Apollo 1 capsule on January 27, 1967.

“Today's flight is Apollo 7. It has a three-man crew made up of Astronauts Walter “Wally” Schirra, another Mercury astronaut, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham. This is a planned eleven-day Earth-orbital mission to test new systems before the planned missions to the Moon.

“During the twenty-one-month suspension of Apollo flights after the fire, some of the onboard systems were redesigned. And we here at the University of New Mexico had the honor of working on the redesign of one of those systems. So we have a very strong interest in this flight.

“When we worked on this module, we didn’t know what it was going to be used for. Then a couple of weeks ago, we found out that the module was one part of a larger system. It’s a part of the guidance system. It’s physically a small part of the guidance system, but in reality, it’s a major part. It’s the guidance system’s main computer.”

Then as I held up the complete guidance module, I continued with, “This is the complete guidance module for the Apollo program. There is one of these in each of the Apollo capsules.

Then I pointed to the module that was mounted on standoffs to the larger board, and I said, “This module is the one that we designed and built. It doesn’t look like much but it’s a very important part.

“Now, I’m going to bore most of you and describe how this was designed. But I’ll make it quick. I teach a couple of classes in electronic circuits, so this is for them. … ” And I went on to quickly describe the steps we took in the design and building of the module.

At just about eight forty-five, I said, “Now I’ll stop boring you, and we’ll go back to the live feed from Cape Kennedy.”

The light on the camera went off, and the floor director said, “And we’re clear.”

A minute later, Mr. Hunter and Miss Foster walked into the studio, and Miss Foster said, “Miss Nez, you’re a natural.”

“Yeah, naturally scared.”, I said.

“If you were scared, you didn’t show it. You came across very well. And did all of that from memory.”

“I guess I did. Could we turn the TV monitor back on.”

“Oh, sorry.” Miss Foster said. Then she loudly said, “John, turn the TV monitor back on.”

A few seconds later, the TV monitor came back on. And we sat there, watched and listened to the last few minutes of the countdown. At a little before nine, Mission Control said, “This is Mission Control, we are in a planned two-minute hold.”

A few minutes later, Mission Control said, “The count down to the flight of Apollo 7 has been picked up. The onboard guidance computer is now controlling the launch. And we are now at T minus two minutes and counting.”

I felt a chill when they’d said that the onboard guidance computer was controlling the launch.

Then shortly, we heard them say, “T minus, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one … We have ignition. And we have the lift-off of Apollo 7 at two minutes past the hour beginning an eleven-day mission to further man’s endeavors to land a man on the Moon.”

We sat there and watched as the cameras tracked the rocket on its flight downrange. Then at about two minutes after the launch, we witnessed the separation of the first stage, and then the second stage take over. And of course, Mission Control announced that. Then we heard someone say, "She is riding like a dream."

Then we heard Mission Control say, “That was Commander Wally Schirra telling us that, ‘She is riding like a dream.’”

At about 10 minutes after the lift-off, Mission Control announced that Apollo 7 had achieved orbit. I relaxed a little. Then I picked up my things and put them back in the metal briefcase.

Miss Foster, who had been watching with me, said, “Miss Nez, I’m glad that you came up with the idea of broadcasting this across the campus.”

“It was President Lingham’s idea to do the whole campus.”, I replied. “I was just going to have my classes watch it.”

“But didn’t you come up with the original idea?”

“I guess I did.”

Then as I walked out of the TV studio, I said, “Everyone. Thank you for the experience.”

Did I want this experience again? No.

As I started walking across campus, I noticed that I was being looked at, and there were a lot of smiles. I had a faculty member, who I didn’t know, walk up to me and say, “Miss Nez, that was very interesting.”

“Thank you.”, I said.

Then I saw a group of students from one of my classes, they walked up to me, and one of them said, “Miss Nez, very nice presentation.”

And the others that were with him agreed.

Again I said, “Thank you. I hope you took good notes.”

“Miss Nez!”, I heard from a few of them.

As I walked away from them, I turned, smiled, and said, “I’ll tell you a little secret. … No quiz on the launch.”

I walked into the engineering building and to the college’s office. As I walked in, Sara looked at me and said, “Miss Nez, may I please have your autograph.”

“Stop it, Sara.”, I replied. “It wouldn’t be worth the ink to sign it.”

“On the contrary, Miss Nez.”, I heard a man say. I turned and looked, and it was President Lingham that had said it, and he was standing with Dean Rutherford.

“Sir?”

“I think what you did may help pique the interest in the space program and what it takes to make it work.”

“Thank you. I guess.”

“No, guess, Miss Nez.”, Dean Rutherford said. “You did.”

“Okay. Can I have a raise?”

“Miss Nez.”

“Only joking, Dean Rutherford.”

“Could we see those modules?”, President Lingham asked.

I set the briefcase on the counter and opened it. The President, the Dean, and Sara looked in the case, and I explained what they were looking at. President Lingham asked, “So, Miss Nez, you built the two smaller modules by hand?”

“Yes, sir.”, I replied. “What we do, after drawing up a schematic, is build, what we call, a breadboard, it allows us to easily make changes. Then we design the printed circuit board, have that made, and then build that up.”

“So, Miss Nez, this module is what you're going to base your doctoral dissertation on?”, President Lingham asked.

“Yes, sir. That and it’s other uses.”

“So, this can be used for things other than guiding a spacecraft?”

“Yes, sir. Several things. And that would make it worthwhile to turn it into an integrated circuit.”

“And you came up with all of this, Miss Nez?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Impressive.”

“Sir, what’s impressive, is watching something you worked on, work as it should and help do something important.”

Dr. Lingham just nodded yes.

I was finally able to get away from the President and Dean and made it to my office. The lights were on, so I knew that Dr. Joe was there, and I was prepared for some friendly harassment. As I walked in the door, not only was Dr. Joe there, but so was Ajie, and the rest of my friends, Charlie and Jackie, Chief Tom and Vickie, and Dr. Joe’s wife, Mary.

They all looked at me as I walked in, and Dr. Joe said, “Nice job, Kai.”

“Yes, it was.”, Chief Tom said.

Ajie had a big smile on her face, and I got a big hug from her. And I asked her, “I thought that you had a class?”

“I did.”, Ajie replied. “But, my classroom has TVs in it, and we took a vote in my eight o’clock class, and they wanted to watch the launch. So, we turned the TVs on just in time to see you and watch the launch. And it got crowded when my second class showed up. And I excused everyone when the Apollo went into orbit.”

Then I had to show everyone what was in the briefcase. Charlie was taking a close look at the printed circuit board that I’d built, and he said, “Kai, the work on this board is so meticulous.”

“It has to be.”, I replied. “One cold solder joint or a bridge between two points and things won’t work.”

Then I said, “You’ll have to excuse me. I want to run over and see how Naainish is doing.”

“I’ll go with you.”, Ajie said.

“Tom and I stopped over yesterday evening.”, Vickie said. “And he was doing well.”

I smiled.

Chief Tom then said, “No, help from the spirits for Naainish, Kai?”

“Maybe, yes. Maybe, no.”, I replied.

“Could we go see him with you?”, Jackie asked.

“Of course you can.”, Ajie said.

Just then, the phone rang. Dr. Joe answered it and said, “Hello. Dr. Oshie and Miss Nez’s office.” … “Yes, sir, she’s still here.” … “I’ll tell her. Goodbye.”

Dr. Joe looked at me and said, “You’re not going to like this. That was the Dean, and there’s a reporter and photographer from the Daily Lobo in his office, and they want to interview you.”

I just looked at Dr. Joe and shook my head. Then I said, “Oh well. Okay.”

“He said to bring the modules with you.”

I put the modules back in the briefcase and said, “I’ll be back.”

“We’ll be here.”, Ajie said.

“I wouldn’t wait.”, I replied.

As I walked out of the office, I heard Chief Tom say, “She isn’t happy.”

I thought, ‘If you only knew.’

As I walked into the Engineering College’s office, Sara said, “He’s expecting you, Kai. Go on back.”

“Thanks, Sara.”, I said.

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

I opened the door and walked in. And along with the Dean, there was the reporter that I’d run into a while back that thought I was really a boy, Miss Jennifer King. Also, there was a photographer there. I looked at Miss King and said, “We meet again, Miss King.”

“Yes, we do, Miss Nez.”, Miss King said.

“You’re not still trying to prove that I’m a guy. Are you?”

The photographer gave her a strange look as she replied, “No, Miss Nez, I’m not. We watched you and the launch, and my editor said that we needed to do a story on you. Do you have time to talk to me?”

“Yes.”

“Is there someplace we could go to talk?”

I looked at the Dean, and he said, “Use the conference room.”

I then looked at Miss King and said, “Come with me.”

The three of us, Miss King, the photographer, and I, walked to the conference room. I showed them the three modules, and the photographer took some pictures of the modules and me. Then I suggested that they focus on the university’s involvement in the Apollo program and not me.

Miss King then said, “You’re right, Miss Nez. But that involvement includes you, Miss Nez.”

We spent about an hour with Miss King asking questions and me answering them.

I was finally able to go back up to the office, and no one was there. But there was a note from Dr. Joe. And Chief Tom and Vickie had left, Ajie, Charlie, and Jackie had gone to see Naainish, and he and Mary had gone to lunch.

So, after I locked up the briefcase, I walked over to the hospital. And as I walked, I noticed an occasional look of recognition. At the hospital, I walked into Naainish’s room, he was alone, sitting up, and reading a copy of the Navajo Times that he’d gotten ahold of.

As I walked in, I said, “Yá’át’ééh, Naainish. - (It is good, Naainish.)”

Naainish looked up and said, “Yá’át’ééh, Kai Nez. Ajie, Charlie, and Jackie were here and went to get something to drink.”

“You’re looking better.”

“I feel better. And seeing you brings a smile to this old man.”

“Now, you’re beginning to sound like your uncle. You are not old.”

“Your aunt and uncle were in this morning, and when I get out of here, I’m going to stay with them until everything is healed.”

“That’s good. Near the spirits and the thermal pools.”

“And the remote hogan.”

“You’re not staying there are you?”, I heard Ajie say from behind me. I turned and looked, and Ajie, Charlie, and Jackie were standing there.

“Not right away. I’ll be at the house for a while first.”, Naainish replied.

“Don’t you even think of staying in that dirty old hogan until you are completely healed!”

Naainish frowned at Ajie, and said, “Yes, Miss Nez.”

“Have they said anything about you getting out of here?”, I asked.

“Not yet. But every time that I see the doctor, he just shakes his head and says, “I just don’t know how.”

Just then, Dr. MacCallum and a few other doctors or residents walked in. Dr. MacCallum looked at me and said, “How do you do it?”

“Do what?”, I asked.

“Help a patient to heal so quickly.”

“I don’t.”

“Miss Nez!”

“I brought the spirits to help him.”

“There is no such things as spirits.”, Dr. MacCallum said.

“Excuse me, doctor.”, one of the others said.

“Yes.”, Dr. MacCallum said as he looked at one of the doctors with him.

“Last winter, a nurse put on a seminar about working with the native people. And she talked about their beliefs helping them. And it made sense.”

I looked at Ajie and smiled. She smiled back.

“That so.”, Dr. MacCallum said.

“Yes, sir.”, Another one of the entourage said. “I was there too. And it did make sense.”

“You said she was a nurse?”

“Yes, sir.”, the first guy said. “And she’s a member of the faculty here.”

“Know where I can find her?”

“No, sir.”

I loudly cleared my throat. And when Dr. MacCallum looked at me, I point at Ajie. He looked at Ajie and said, “Miss Nez, it was you?”

“Yes, sir, it was.”, Ajie replied.

“How can you a person of science believe in something like this?”

“How can you say that you don’t believe it, sir.”. Ajie said. “Have you looked into it at all?”

“No, why would I.”

“Because it’s something that has existed for hundreds of years and the native people have done well with it. And it might open your eyes to something that would help you do a better job than you already do when working with the native people.”

“Do you think using some kind of magic can do more than modern medicine?”

“Sir, first of all, it’s not magic.”, Ajie said. “It’s a belief in the spirits. And they need to work together.

“So, you believe in these spirits?”. Dr. MacCallum said.

“Yes, sir, I do. I’ve felt them and have seen what the belief in them can do. How can you explain the bet that you’re losing?”

“It’s just luck. Mr. Yazzie must just be someone that heals quickly.”

“Just luck!”, Ajie said. “If you’d have seen Mr. Yazzie’s reaction when Kai was with him in the ER and the ICU, you wouldn’t be saying that.”

“He was sedated, so there’s no way that he could have known.”

“Doctor.”, Naainish said. “I knew. Or my spirits knew. Kai brought me hope and strength. She has the strength of the wolf and can use it to help her people. And she used it to help me.

“You need to realize that our people have been doing this for many many years. Can we heal everyone? No, there are times when it’s a persons time to pass on. Kai has seen that and knows. Some don’t believe in the spirits and can’t be helped.”

“Dr. MacCallum.”, Ajie said. “Kai and I were not born or raised out here. At first, I wasn’t sure about this whole thing. But after Kai and I came out here and being with Naainish and others, I had to accept it. I’ve seen it. I’ve felt it.”

Dr. MacCallum looked at Ajie. Then he looked at the doctors that were with him, and asked, “How many of you attended the seminar on working with the native people?”

Of the six doctors that were with him, five raised their hands.

Then Dr. MacCallum said, “How many of you believe, if only in a small way, in this native thing?”

All six of them raised their hands. Dr. MacCallum looked at the one that hadn’t raised his hand the first time, and asked, “And why do you believe in it?”

The doctor said, “Sir, I’m not a native, but I lived on a reservation when my parents were working at the local native hospital. I had a lot of friends that were natives, and I also learned a lot about their beliefs. And there’s truth to this spirit thing.”

Dr. MacCallum stood there in thought for a minute or two, then said, “Miss Nez and Miss Nez. First of all, you win the bet because we feel that Mr. Yazzie will be ready to leave the hospital on Monday.

“And secondly, how do I find out more about this native thing?”

“Dr. MacCallum.”, I said. “Ajie has written a textbook on the subject.”

Looking at Ajie, Dr. MacCallum asked, “Miss Nez, is that true?”

“Yes, sir.”, Ajie replied.

“Where can I get a copy?”

“It hasn’t been published yet.”, Ajie replied. “But, it’ll be available before spring quarter when I’m teaching a class for both the College of Medicine and the School of Nursing.”

I gave Ajie a strange look when she said spring quarter. But I said, “And, sir, if I know Ajie, and I do, she will have more information than what’s in the textbook. So, I might suggest that you attend the class.”

The doctor looked at me, then said, “Hmm. Go back to school. It might be interesting.”

“It will.”

“Spring quarter, you say.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I may try to do that.”

“That would be good.”

As Dr. MacCallum and his entourage were leaving Naainish’s room, I asked, “Dr. MacCallum, did you get that tooth looked at?”

He turned, looked at me, and said, “Yes, Miss Nez, I did. I’m getting a root canal.”

And as they disappeared, Jackie said, “Wow! That was different.”

“Sometimes you just have to stand up for what you believe in and hopefully do some good.”, Ajie said. “And hopefully Dr. MacCallum will talk to those six doctors and see how they feel about it. He’s a good doctor and surgeon, but it’s a little hard getting him to see new things even when they’re old.”

Then I looked at Ajie and said, “Spring quarter. I thought that it was going to be winter quarter?”

“It was.”, Ajie said. “But remember, I’m taking a leave of absence if the adoptions come through.”

“I almost forgot.”

We visited with Naainish a little longer. And as we were leaving, we promised to visit him tomorrow. When we were in the elevator, I asked, “Did you three have lunch?”

Everyone said no. So, I suggested the drive-in. And a tasty lunch of a double cheeseburger with pickles, an order of french fries, and a ginger ale milkshake hit the spot.

We dropped Charlie and Jackie off at their apartment. Then on the way to pick up Ajie’s car, she said, “You’re going to hate me.”

“Never.”, I said.

“Yes, you will. I’m working four to midnight today and tomorrow, and a split shift from ten to six on Sunday.”

“When did you find that out?”

“This morning, after you left.”

“So you're coming home to change?”, I asked.

“No.”, Ajie said. “I brought my uniform with me.”

As I was dropping Ajie off at her car, I couldn’t even kiss her. But, she kissed me and said, “Kai, I love you, and I’ll miss you this evening.”

“I love you too, and I’ll miss you too.”

I watched as Ajie got into her car, she was going to move it to the hospital staff’s parking lot. You know, I miss walking her back and forth to the hospital from the apartment.

When she was in her car, I headed home. I just figured that it would give me some quiet time to work on my dissertation. And it did. I’m working on a scholarly paper of between one-hundred and two-hundred pages.

After I’d been home for a little while, the phone rang, I picked up the receiver, and said, “Hello, Nez residence.”

“Hello, Kai. It’s Vickie. Is Ajie there.”

“Hi, Vickie. No, Ajie’s working in the ER tonight.”

“Would you have her call me at home tomorrow.”

“Sure thing. What’s up?”

“I don’t know if I should tell you.”

“Why not?”, I asked.

“Because I want to be the one to tell her.”, Vickie said.

“Vickie, come on, tell me, and I promise that I won’t tell her.”

“Okay. But, you’d better not tell.”

“I won’t.”

“First of all, several people here at the university have read Ajie’s book, and they love it. And the publisher that I sent it to is also happy with it, and they want to publish it.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“I know.”, Vickie said. “Now, don’t tell her.”

“I won’t.”, I replied. “What’s Ajie have to do?”

“I have a contract for her to sign. They tell me it a standard contract that they use for anything like this.”

“I think that we might like to have our lawyer look at it. But that will be up to Ajie.”

“That’s fine by me, why don’t you two come over for dinner tomorrow?”

“Can’t.”, I said. “Ajie’s working four to midnight.”

“How about lunch?”, Vickie replied.

“That would work.”

“Good. Now, remember not a word to Ajie.”

“Mum’s the word.”, I replied.

“See you at noon tomorrow.”, Vickie said.

“We’ll be there. So long.”

“So long, Kai.”

As I hung up, I thought, ‘Ajie’s going to be published. That is so cool.’

As I was making some fresh sangria for Ajie to have when she got home, I was thinking, ‘This is Friday night. They can really get busy. I sure hope she doesn’t have to work over.’

I was sitting out in the courtyard, enjoying the night air, and watching the stars. Just before twelve-thirty, I heard the ding of the sensor in the driveway. I got up and walked to the door from the house to the garage. I got there just as Ajie’s garage door went up. I watched as she pulled into the garage and got out of the car. She walked up to me we kissed then hugged, and she said, “I’m so glad to be home.”

“I bet you are.”, I replied. “You got out of there on time.”

“It was strange. We weren’t that busy. I’m going to go take a shower.”

“There’ll be some fresh sangria for you when you come back out.”

“Reading my mind.”

I went and poured two glass of sangria and took them out into the courtyard. I lit the small fire that I’d laid earlier. And I sat and waited for Ajie.

A short time later, as Ajie walked into the courtyard, I said, “Vickie called and wants us to come to lunch tomorrow.”

“That would be nice.”, Ajie said. “We could stop and see Naainish and maybe drop off the headdresses.”

“Good thinking.

As Ajie sat, I picked up her sangria and handed it to her. She took a sip and said, “Very nice, lover. You’ve gotten the hang of making it.”

We sat there enjoying the night for about half an hour, then Ajie looked at me with a little smile and a twinkle in those gorgeous blue eyes of hers, then things happen right out in the courtyard.

On Saturday morning, I let Ajie sleep in. It was about seven when I went out into the courtyard to read. But first, I went out into the backyard to just look at the mountains and the desert. It was a cool morning and felt good. When I looked out across the backyard to the National Forest, I saw the Eagle in the tree again. Was he building a nest? Isn’t it too close to people?

I stood there and watched him. Then I felt hands on my shoulder, and I jumped.

“Sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to startle you.”, Ajie said.

“That’s okay.”, I replied.

“What are you so intent on?”

“I’ve been watching the Eagle. I think he’s building a nest.”

“You’re kidding?”

“No. Look.”, I said as I pointed towards the tree.

Ajie looked, then said, “I think you’re right. Isn’t it too close to people.”

“It might be. I’ll call Zimm later and see what he says.”

After breakfast, I retrieved the two Bald Eagle feathers out of the safe. Ajie retrieved the two headdresses from where they were on the Kiva fireplace’s mantel in the office. Then we put them all into the case we used for the headdresses.

Ajie put her uniform in my car since she was planning to change at Vickie and Chief Tom’s house before I took her to the hospital. Then we drove both cars to the hospital, and Ajie parked her car in the staff parking lot. She would be working from four till midnight tonight, and I’d be dropping her off after lunch.

We then headed over to Mrs. Cyl's shop. Mrs. Cyl is the lady that’s a weaver and has made our Biil dresses. Her mother is the lady that has made a couple of our headbands and our headdresses for us. And then later she had added Eagle feathers to the headdresses.

When we walked into Mrs. Cyl’s shop, there were a few customers in there. She looked at us, did a double-take, and said, “Kai. Ajie. I’ll be with you as soon as I can.”

“No, rush, Mrs. Cyl.”, I replied.

Ajie and I walked around the shop, looking at everything. After about ten minutes, Mrs. Cyl walked up to us and said, “It’s really good to see the two of you again.”

“And it’s nice to see you too, Mrs. Cyl.”, Ajie said.

“What can I help you with?”

“We’re planning on going to the gathering again this November, and we’re wondering if your mother could do something for us?”

“She probably can.”

I set the case on the counter, opened it, and took out the two headdresses. Then I took out the two Eagle feathers that were wrapped in a cloth. I unfolded the cloth, and Mrs. Cyl saw the feathers as did a couple of her customers. Then Mrs. Cyl asked, “Knowing you two. These are Bald Eagle feathers.”

“They are.”, I said.

“They’re very nice. Where did you get these?”

“Ajie and I hiked to the summit of Tsoodzil, and we found them up there.”

“Tsoodzil?”, Mrs. Cyl asked.

“Mount Taylor.”, I replied.

“Oh. One of the four sacred mountains.”

“Yes.”

“Are those Bald Eagle feathers?”, one of the customers asked.

“Yes, they’re flight feathers.”, I replied.

“Where can I get one?”

“Are you a member of a recognized American Indian tribe?”

“Ah. No. Why?”

“To own Eagle feathers, you need to be.”

“What could happen if I did have the feathers?”

“If you got caught, you wouldn’t like the fine.”, I replied.

“It couldn’t be that bad.”, the customer said.

“If you can spare thirty-thousand dollar and the loss of the feathers. Then I guess it wouldn’t be too bad.”

“You are kidding.”

“And it's a Federal charge.”

“Never mind.”

“So, Kai, when do you need the headdresses back?”, Mrs. Cyl asked.

“No rush. Let’s say next Friday.”, I replied.

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Thank you very much.”

As Mrs. Cyl carefully rewrapped the Eagle feathers and put them and the headdresses in the case, then she said, “Watch the shop for me while I lock this up. I can’t have these disappear.”

“No, we can’t. We’ll be here.”

We waited until Mrs. Cyl came back from the backroom, then we said so long to her and headed to see Naainish. When we walked into his room, he wasn’t there. His bed was made, but no Naainish. We walked out to the nurse’s station and asked where he was.

We found out that he was down in the solarium. The nurse was going to give us direction, but Ajie said that she knew where it was. So we headed down to the first floor and the solarium.

When we walked into the solarium, we spotted Naainish. And like when we found grandma here a couple of years ago, he was sitting, in a wheelchair, and talking with a few people who looked to be natives.

Ajie and I walked over to them, and Ajie and I said together, “Yá'át'ééh t'áá ájíltso. Nizhonigó íiná aadóó hozhónahasdlíí. - (Hello everyone. It is good, and all is harmony around us.)”

Naainish looked at us and said, “Yá’át’ééh, Kai dóó Ajie.”

Then he introduced everyone to us. Don’t ask. I’m terrible at names, especially the first time I hear them. We sat and chatted with everyone, which was interesting listening to what some of the older people were telling us. I wanted to stay longer, but we had to excuse ourselves so that we could make it to lunch at Vickie and Chief Tom’s house on time.

As we pulled into the driveway at Vickie and Chief Tom’s house, I said, “Well, it appears that we’re the only ones here.”

“It does.”, Ajie replied.

We were met at the door by Chief Tom with a “Yá’át’ééh. T'áá shoodí wóshde´e´’. - (It is good. Please come in.)”

I smiled, and replied, “Yá’át’ééh alní'íní, Naat'áanii Tahoma. - (It is good, Chief Tom.) Your Navajo continues to improve.”

“Thanks, Kai. Ajie and you working with me has brought things back to me.”

“Yá’át’ééh - (It is good.)”

We walked into the house and followed Chief Tom to the kitchen, where we found Vickie working on lunch. And what she was cooking smelled wonderful. We sat down to black bean and beef tostadas. They're made with beef, diced tomatoes, diced green chiles, black beans, refried beans, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and of course, tostada shells. And cheese corn spoon bread.

We told them about seeing the Eagle in the back yard, apparently building a nest. And then about the interview that the reporter had done with me yesterday. Then Vickie handed Ajie an envelope and said, “Ajie, you need to read this.”

Ajie took the envelope and removed the papers that were inside. She unfolded it and started to read the letter. I watched her. She looked up at Vickie and said, “Are you kidding me?”

“No, honey, I’m not.”, Vickie said. “They loved your book.”

“And they want to publish it?”

“Yes, there’s also a contract for you to sign and return.”

I was grinning. Ajie looked at me and said, “You knew. Didn’t you?”

“Uh huh.”, I replied.

“Brat.”

“Vickie swore me to silence. And everyone has told you that your book was good. And now you should believe them.”

Then Vickie said, “You also have most of your dissertation done, as long as you typed the textbook in the font that I suggested and I think you did. You don’t need or want to put the whole book in your dissertation, but pick and choose the best parts. And I’ll help you if you want me to.”

Then handing Ajie a bound booklet, Vickie continued with, “This is a copy of my dissertation that you can use as a guide.”

“Thank you.”, Ajie said. “I think that I want our lawyer to look at this contract before I sign it.”

“I don’t blame you. You need to maintain ownership of your creative work. The publisher will copyright the book for you. And the contract grants them a license to publish your work and work as your agent.”

“And I’ll get that base amount and then so much for each book sold.”

“Yes. It’s not much, but it’ll give you gas money.”

“And you’ll be published.”, I added.

“I will. Won’t I.”, Ajie said.

We sat with Vickie and Chief Tom for a while. Then Ajie changed into her uniform, and we headed to the hospital. On the way, Ajie said, “You just wait until I get you home.”

“What’d I do?”, I asked.

“You didn’t tell me that they wanted to publish my book.”

“Vickie asked me not to tell you. She wanted to do it.”

“Okay. Forgiven this time. Who should I see to look over the contract Chief Clah or Cathy Edwards?”

Cathy Edwards is our lawyer of record. Chief Clah is a lawyer, a friend, and the Attorney General of the Navajo Nation.

“Cathy might be the best for that contract, but if you want me to I’ll call Chief Clah and ask him?”, I asked.

“Thanks.”, Ajie said. “That would be wonderful if you’d do that.”

“Consider it done.”

As I dropped Ajie off at the hospital, I asked, “Want me to meet you for dinner?”

“I’d love that.”, Ajie replied. “I’ll call you and let you know when my dinner break is.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

“Just remember it’s Saturday night.”

“I know. It could get busy in a heartbeat.”

“I wish I could be home with you tonight.”, Ajie said.

“I wish you could too.”, I replied. “But we knew that it could be like this.”

“Yeah, we did.”

When I was home, I checked the answering machine and nothing. So I called Chief Clah and told him what was going on. He thought that talking with Cathy Edwards about the contract was an excellent place to start.

I spent the time waiting for Ajie’s phone call working on my dissertation by reading some more of the documentation from N.A.S.A. It was eight when the phone rang, I quickly answered it with a, “Hello.”

“Hi, honey.”, Ajie said. “I’m sorry that I didn’t get a chance to call, but we’ve been jammed. And I may not get dinner.”

“Do you want me to have something ready when you get home?”

“A salad would be wonderful. I’ll call you when I leave. Gotta run. Ayóó' áníínísh'ní - (I love you.)”

“See you when you get here. Ayóó' áníínísh'ní aldó’. - (I love you too.)”

And we hung up. I made some sangria to have with our salad. Then I checked to see if we had the fixings for a salad, and I found the things that I need to put together a corn and black bean salad with salad greens, crushed tortilla chips, ranch dressing, picante sauce, and shredded cheddar cheese. It wouldn’t take me long to build this salad, so I’d wait until Ajie called.

Then I poured myself a glass of sangria, walked out through the courtyard, and into the backyard. The Moonlight was enough to see the trees along the back of the yard, but I couldn’t tell if there was an Eagle in the tall tree or not.

I went back into the courtyard and laid and lit a fire in the fire pit. It’s starting to get chilly in the evenings, especially after the Sun has set. But we both enjoy the cool weather.

And I fell asleep.

I was startled awake by the phone ringing. “Hello.”, I said once I’d answered the phone.

“Hi, honey.”, Ajie said. “I’ll be on the way home in a few minutes.”

“I’ll walk over and walk you home.”

“Sweety, wake up. You’re at the house and not the apartment.”

“Oh, geez. I’m sorry I was sleeping and dreaming about walking you from the hospital to the apartment. What time is it.”

“I figured you were sleeping. It's little after one-thirty.”

“That late. Do you still want the salad?”

“No, they brought us some food.”

“Okay. Drive careful.”

“I will love.”

I thought about starting a fire in the Kiva fireplace in the master suite. But Ajie and I like a cool bedroom, and if it gets cold, we cuddle together to stay warm.

Ajie pulled into the garage at about two in the morning. And, as we were crawling into bed, Ajie said, “So, you were dreaming about walking me home to the apartment?”

“Yeah. I miss doing that.”, I replied.

“That’s sweet, and believe it or not, I miss it too.”

“That’s sweet too.”