Naainish is finally out of the hospital and at the resort. But, Dr. Ajie had to go up to the resort and lay down the law to him about him using the thermal pools and staying out of the remote hogan. Is there something between Naainish and Quah Ah?

Lieutenant Zimmerman from the Albuquerque Parks Department came to the house to set up a camera to record the Golden Eagle building a nest, if he does, in our backyard.

We had taken the Corvette to the car show, which turned out to be a judged show. The Corvette did well. It received rosette ribbons for First Place – Best Corvette, First Place -- 1950’s Group, Third Place – Best Sports Car, and Best in Show – Honorable Mention.

On top of that, the Corvette, much to my chagrin, had caught the attention of the Mayor of Albuquerque. He is not one of my favorite people. And by doing that, the Mayor presented the Mayor’s Trophy to the Corvette. And we had to have our pictures taken with him. I don’t want to see tomorrow's paper.

On the way to my first class on Monday, I stopped in the office. Dr. Joe was there, and when I walked in, he said, “Well, if it isn’t Miss front-page news.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah. In the morning edition of the Albuquerque paper.”

“What!?”

“Look on the work table.”

I walked over to the work table and looked. It wasn’t the front page of the paper, but the front page of the local section. On it was a picture of me, Ajie, the front of the Corvette, and the Mayor, and it showed the Mayor handing me the trophy. I somehow was smiling. I quickly read the article, and it was okay. They did get somethings wrong, but I won’t hold that against them.

I was in my classroom just before the bell rang. And as the bell rang, a hand went up. I looked at the student and said, “Yes.”

“Miss Nez.”, the student said. “Some of us were at the car show this weekend. Is that ‘53 Corvette really yours?”

I looked at him and said, “Yes.”

“That is one cool car.”

“Thank you. You’d probably also like my ‘57 Chevy Bel Air.”

Someone just said, “Miss Nez, why do you have cars like that?”

“To be honest with you. I’m a Tomboy and a nerd, and I love mechanical and electronic stuff. I bought the ‘57 during my senior year of high school and picked up the Corvette earlier this year.

“Now for today’s lecture … ”

My second class started in the same way. So I guess everyone was at the car show or has seen the newspaper.

After my second class, I walked into the Engineering College’s office to check my mailbox. Sara saw me, smiled, and I said, “Don’t say it.”

“Say what, Kai. That you take a wonderful picture.”

“If you say so, Sara.”

“I do. The front page of the school paper one week and the front page of the Albuquerque paper's local section the next.”

“And if she doesn’t say that you take a good picture. I will.”, I heard a familiar man’s voice say.

I turned, looked, and it was the Dean. And he said. “And I’m not the only one either. President Lingham would like to know if you would be willing to do something?”

I cautiously said, “And what’s that, Dean Rutherford?”

“Members of the committee that are putting together a new brochure for the university saw your presentation of the Apollo 7 launch plus what was in the newspapers and would like you to represent the College of Engineering in the brochure.”

“I assume that others from the faculty and staff will be part of it?”

“Yes, and students.”

“What kind of brochure is this?”

“It’s used to advertise the university and it’s academic programs.”

“Okay. I’ve done it before, so why not.”

“You’ve done it before?”, Dean Rutherford asked.

“Yes, sir.”, I replied. “I did one for the resort that my aunt and uncle run.”

“What resort is that?”

“The Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs north of here.”

“Yes, I know it. Nice place.”

“It is, and you’ll find us there on many weekends.”

“So, I can tell President Lingham that you’ll do it?”

I thought for a couple of seconds then said, “Yes.”

I went to the office, and Dr. Joe wasn’t there. So I went to work on the project, and that was putting the finishing touches on the printed circuit board. Hopefully, we’ll be able to start testing tomorrow.

I’d been working on the project for a couple of hours when I heard a key in the door. The door opened and Dr. Joe walked in. I looked up at him, and he said, “Hard at it, I see, Dr. Kai.”

I glared at him and said, “We should be ready to test tomorrow, Joe.”

“Joe?”

“Sure. If I’m Dr. Kai, then you’re just good old plain, Joe.”

“Okay. I get your point, Kai.”

“Thank you, Dr. Joe.”

“I heard that they talked you into something else?”, Dr. Joe said.

“Yes, and why I agreed to it I don’t know.”, I replied.

“Maybe it’s because of your love for the university.”

“You could be right.”

“So, you think we’ll be ready to test tomorrow?”

“Yes. I just need to go over all the solder points and check them. And then we can start testing.”

“Good. I’ll gather all the test equipment that we’ll need, so it’ll be here when you get here tomorrow.”

When I was home, I received my greeting from Ajie, then I told her about being asked to be included in the brochure for the university. She smiled and said, “Just like old times.”

“I guess it is.”, I replied. “Do we still have any of the brochures from the resort?”

“I think there’s a couple. Why?”

“I mentioned it when I was talking to Dean Rutherford, so I thought I’d take one in and show it to him.”

After dinner, Ajie and I walked out into the backyard and looked towards where the Eagle had started building a nest. I’d brought the binoculars out with me, and when I looked, it looked like the nest was a little bigger and that he was in it. I gave the binoculars to Ajie, and she looked and said, “He is in the nest, and I think that you’re right. The nest is bigger.”

Just then, we heard the ding dong from the sensor in the gate of the front courtyard. I looked at Ajie and said, “Did you hear the ding from the driveway sensor?”

“No.”, Ajie said. “Did you?”

Just as I said, “No.” We heard the doorbell.

As we headed to the front door, Ajie said, “I guess we’ll find out who it is now.”

We walked up to the front door, and I opened it. Standing there was our next-door neighbors, Hosteen and Jáan Tl'izilani. I smiled, and as I stood back, I said, “Yá’át’ééh. T'áá shoodí wóshde´e´’. - (It is good. Please come in.)”

Hosteen said, “Yá’át’ééh, Kai dóó Ajie.”

Hosteen and Jáan walked in, and we greeted each other, then Hosteen said, “Jáan and I were talking about the Eagle’s nest in your back yard. We can’t see it well from our yard without getting too close. So we hoped that we could get a better look from your yard.”

“That’s funny.”, I said. “We were just out there looking at it. Come on, and we’ll go back out.”

The four of us walked out through the courtyard to the backyard. I handed Hosteen the binoculars and pointed out the nest. He looked and said, “Yes, I see the nest, and there’s the Eagle.”

“Let me see.”, Jáan said.

Hosteen handed her the binoculars and pointed out the nest. Jáan spotted the nest and said, “Yes, there he is.”

“We’re not sure if it’s a male or female.”, I said.

“What kind of an Eagle is it?”

“Our friend from the Albuquerque Parks Department said that it’s a Golden Eagle. In general, they’re rarer than Bald Eagles.”

“Are there Bald Eagles around here?”, Jáan asked.

I looked at Ajie, and she nodded yes. So, I said, “If you promise not to tell anyone?”

“Tell anyone what?”

“That there are Bald Eagles out here.”

“There are? Why is it such a secret?”

“Out here, they’re rare. And we don’t want them disturbed.”

Ajie then said, “Why don’t we go sit in the courtyard, and I’ll get us something to drink. If you’d like some, I just made a fresh batch of sangria?”

We went into the courtyard, and while Ajie got the sangria, I quickly laid and lit a small fire in the fire pit. And we sat on the couches, and Jáan said, “I like what you’ve done with the house and the courtyard.”

“Thanks.”, Ajie said. “We spend a lot of time out here, so we made it comfortable.”

“These Bald Eagles, why are they so rare?”

“There’s only five of them around here, and three of those are Eaglets from the original pair. And we want to protect them. We hope if they’re not disturbed that they’ll continue to breed and increase the population. The Eaglets won’t be mature enough to breed for another four of five years. But, we hope that the one mature pair that’s out here will continue to have young.”

“Who is, we?”, Hosteen asked.

“The Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Forest people, the Albuquerque Parks people, some of Pueblos, and us.”

“Why you guys?”, Jáan asked.

“Remember that I’m a Nádleeh – (two spirit person).”, I said. “And that Eagles, Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles, are sacred to the native peoples. They are the messengers to the Great Spirit.”

“I forgot about you. And now I see why the Eagles are important to you.”

“And also to you, Jáan.”

We continued to talk and sip our sangria. Then Ajie brought up our plans to adopt, and that piqued Jáan's interest, as she asked, “When is this going to happen?”

“If everything works out it will probably be around the first of December.”, Ajie replied.

“Any idea if it’ll be a boy or a girl?”

“No, but we know it’ll be twins.”

“That’ll be a hand full.”

“You’re probably right?”

“Boys or girls?”

“We’re not sure. They’ll be newborns when they come to us.”

“Now, that will be a real hand full.”

Later as we were cuddled together in bed, Ajie said, “That was really nice of Jáan to offer to come over and help with the babies.”

“It was.”, I replied. “Maybe I should take a leave of absence too.”

“No! That’s not necessary, as long as you’re here to help in the evenings.”

“You know, I will be.”

Tuesday after classes, we did start testing the printed circuit. And by the middle of the afternoon, we were happy with what we were seeing. I looked at Dr. Joe and said, “Looks good to me.”

“Me too, Kai.”, Dr. Joe said.

And then, all of a sudden, I saw one of the outputs drop to zero. And I said, “What the!”

I quickly powered the circuit down. And Dr. Joe and I looked at the circuit board and couldn’t see anything burned. I just sighed and said, “Well, back to the drawing board.”

“It happens.”, Dr. Joe said.

We disconnected all the test equipment and cleared off the work table. I got out the lighted magnifying glass and started going over the printed circuit board, which I’d carefully built from the schematic. And while I did that, Dr. Joe went over the schematic to see if I’d messed up something.

Two hours later, we were still looking. Finally, I said, “I’m not seeing anything.”

“Me either, Kai.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Okay. Time to walk away from it for a while.”

“I agree.”

“I wish I could take the schematic home and just sit in a quiet place and look at it.”

“But you can’t.”, Dr. Joe said.

“I know. Ajie’s working four to midnight, so it’ll be quiet at home. Maybe if I sit quietly, something will come to me.”

“Let’s hope.”

“I’ll call you if I think of anything.”

“Not after ten.”, Dr. Joe said.

“I know. Not after ten.”, I repeated. “See you tomorrow. Hágoónee' - (see you later), Dr. Joe.”

“Hágoónee', Kai.”

I took the back way home so that I could think while I drove. I stopped at the mailbox to check on the mail and get the paper. I went into the house, found something for dinner, and made a fresh pitcher of sangria.

After a quick dinner, I went out into the courtyard and laid and lit a fire in the fire pit. Then I curled up on one of the couches and took a sip the sangria. Then I closed my eyes, cleared my head, and started going over the design of the circuit in my mind trying to figure out what I’d done wrong.

Every once in awhile, I’d take a sip of sangria and go back to meditating.

At about eleven in the evening, I looked up at the Moon, shook my head, and said to no one, “You dummy! You stupid dummy! Why did you do that? You know that won’t work.”

I sat there, chastising myself for making a stupid beginner's mistake. And I poured and drank another glass of sangria.

I curled up and fell asleep on the couch in the courtyard. Someone kissing me on the cheek woke me up with a start. Then I heard Ajie, “Sorry, honey, I didn't mean to startle you.”

“That’s okay.”, I said. “Did you have dinner?”

“Yes, and I’m ready for bed.”

“Good. Me too.”

Wednesday morning, both Ajie and I left for the university at the same time. We’d taken showers at the same time but in different bathrooms.

I walked into the office a little after seven-thirty and looked at the printed circuit board. And there it was! Dummy!

Dr. Joe walked into the office about ten minutes later, and he said, “You haven’t been here all night, have you?”

“No. But, I made a stupid beginner's mistake.”

“What did you do?”

“Look at the electrolytic capacitor and the diodes at the output.”

Dr. Joe looked at it, then said, “How did you do that?”

“I was being stupid.”

“But it showed output?”

“Yeah, until the capacitor charged and fried the diodes.”

“So, can you fix it?”

“Yes. In ten minutes. After my classes.”

“Okay. Just don’t beat yourself up too bad.”

“I won’t.”

I went and taught my nine and ten o’clock classes. Then I was back in the office, correcting my goof.

I knew Dr. Joe was watching me as I was wrapping up the correction. When I finished, I looked up, and he said, “Kai, you’re allowed to make mistakes.”

“I guess I am. But it just makes me so mad.”

“Don’t stay mad too long.”

“I won’t.”, I said. “It’s no fun. Let’s try this thing.”

We hooked up the printed circuit for testing again. I slowly started adding power to the inputs, and Dr. Joe checked the output, and he just kept nodding yes. When I hit what would be the nominal input, I stopped and looked at Dr. Joe, and he said, “Right on the money.”

“Last time it did the same thing.”, I said. “Keep an eye on it for a couple of minutes just to make sure I didn’t screw up again.”

“Kai, stop downing yourself.”

“I will. Eventually. Lets let it burn until we go home.”

At about five, the circuit was still looking good. So we shut it down and called it a day. But we agreed to get together early tomorrow before class and set up an all-day test.

I headed home. We were having an early dinner tonight because we had our parenting class back at the university. We should have eaten in town.

Just before seven, Ajie and I were walking into a classroom at the hospital. This is where the class for new parents was to be held. There were already six couples in the classroom sitting at tables. We walked over and sat at an empty table.

A few minutes later, two women walked in and walked to the front of the room. One of them turned around and said, “Good evening. I’m Mrs. Broadway, and this is Mrs. Kennedy. And you should be here for the new parent's class. We’re expecting two more couples, and then we’ll get started.”

So we sat and waited. And before long, our two missing couples walked in.

Then Mrs. Broadway and Mrs. Kennedy introduced themselves. Both were registered nurses, and both worked in the children's part of the hospital. Then we went around the room having everyone introduce themselves and tell a little about themselves and the baby that they were going to have.

So it was we’re so-and-so, we do this and that, and we’re having a baby boy, or a baby girl, or they didn’t yet know what they were having.

I whispered to Ajie, “You get to do the talking.”

“Okay.”, Ajie replied. “But, it’ll cost you a milkshake afterward.”

“Deal.”

When they got to us, Ajie said, “Hello, I’m Ajie Nez, and this is my cousin Kai Nez. We are both members of the university’s faculty. I’m a registered nurse and an instructor in the College of Nursing, I’m working on my doctoral degree in nursing, and work part-time in the hospital’s emergency room. Kai is an instructor in the Electrical Engineering department and is also working on her doctoral degree in electrical engineering. Plus, she’s also a Research Associate.

“I’m unable to have children. And my husband, who is in the military and now is in Vietnam, and I have elected to adopt. The children haven’t been born yet, so we don’t know if they're boys or girls. Yes, they’re twins.”

Yes, the above story about Ajie being married and me having a boyfriend is fake. But it’s what we tell people when we have a need to.

“Miss Nez.”, Mrs. Broadway asked. “If you’re an RN. Why are you here?”

“The closest I’ve been to newborns is when I’ve helped deliver them in the ER. So, having them at home is going to be a new territory for us. And Kai will be helping me. So don’t treat me as a nurse, but as one of your students.”

“Thank you, Miss Nez. We’ll do that.”

Once everyone finished introducing themselves, over the next three hours, we covered everything from procedures following the birth, to understanding typical newborn characteristics, to bathing, diapering, burping, holding, and swaddling. And infant soothing techniques, infant safety, and nursery equipment, latching on, common breastfeeding concerns and problems, and how to know when to call the pediatrician.

They also provided a list of essential items and products to purchase for baby’s care.

Then Mrs. Kennedy looked at Ajie, and said, “And Miss Nez, since you will be dealing with twins, I’d suggest that you place them in the same crib.”

“Why is that?”, Ajie asked.

“Think about this. They’ve been in the womb together for nine months. By placing them in the same crib for the first year or so, you decrease the trauma of separation.”

“Interesting theory. And I think we’ll do that.”

Then Mrs. Broadway said to the class, “One thing that they’re studying is allowing the child to sleep in your room with you, but not in the same bed, for the first six months to a year.”

Someone asked, “Why would you do that?”

“There are many reasons like bonding between the child and parents, and they think that the noises that mom and dad make help the baby sleep safer.”

Then Mrs. Broadway asked, “Miss Nez, you and your cousin are natives. Aren’t you?”

“Yes, we’re Navajo.”, Ajie replied.

“Have you thought about using cradleboards?”

“Yes, we have, and we’re planning on using them for the first few months. We like to hike, and we’ll take the babies with us using them.”

“For those of you that don’t know what a cradleboard is.”, Mrs. Kennedy said to the rest of the class. “It’s a traditional baby carrier used by the native peoples. It’s a flat board that an infant, who is swaddled in a blanket, is strapped to. And they’re still able to use their hands. And the cradleboard also appears to have a soothing effect on the baby.

“The cradleboards are made with a wood frame, and they use buckskin laces looped through the frame as straps. Am I correct, Miss Nez?”

“From what we’ve seen, yes.”, Ajie replied. “Plus, they also have a footrest, and a rounded wooden piece to protect the baby's head and to hold a cover to protect them from the sun. And you can wear the cradleboard like a backpack. Or you can place it on the ground like a baby chair.”

As the class was breaking up, Mrs. Broadway and Mrs. Kennedy walked up to us, and Mrs. Kennedy asked Ajie, “Miss Nez, did you see anything that we missed?”

“No.”, Ajie said. “As I said, newborns are something completely new for us.”

“I was thinking of from a nurse's point of view.”

“Oh. I think that you hit all the spots as to when to call a pediatrician. Maybe add something about when to come to the ER or when to call an ambulance.”

“Good ideas.”

“Thank you for all the information on what we need to have on hand. I would have never thought of a lot of it. And putting the twins in one crib is a wonderful idea.”

Then Mrs. Kennedy looking at Ajie, said, “Wait a minute. Now I know where I’ve seen you before. You put on that seminar on working with native patients.”

“Yes, I did.”, Ajie said.

“That was very good and informative.”

“Thank you. I’ve written a textbook based on the seminar. We're going to be offering a class in the spring based on the book. It's going to be offered in both the College of Nursing and the College of Medicine.”

“Knowing how many native people we see that would be a good course to take.”

“It’s also going to count for continuing education hours.”, Ajie said.

As we walked to the car, I asked Ajie, “What’s this continuing education credits thing?”

“With the way things change in the medical field they require us to take so many hours of continuing education every so often to indicate that we’re staying current.”, Ajie replied. “Some are offered at work and others through the university.”

After we left the hospital, we did stop at the drive-in for a milkshake, and as we were waiting, I asked Ajie, “So, are we going to have the babies sleep in our room?”

“I thought we might.”, Ajie replied.

“There goes my time with the Queen.”

With a sly smile, Ajie said, “Oh. We’ll work something out.”

At about seven on Thursday morning, I walked into the office, Dr. Joe was already here, and he asked, “So, how was the baby class.”

“Interesting.”, I said. “Both Ajie and I learned things. Plus, it looks like they’ll be sleeping with us for about a year.”

“Sleeping with you!?”

“Not in our bed, but in a crib in our bedroom.”

“Why?”

“I guess it helps the bonding between the child and the parents. And there’s something about them sleeping safer.”

“Safer?”

“I’m not sure. You’ll need to ask Ajie on that one.”

As we talked, we restarted the test on the printed circuit board. And this will be an all-day test. Dr. Joe would be here when I couldn't, and I’d be here when he couldn’t. Every once in awhile we’d alter the inputs and check the changes in the outputs, and note any changes.

I went and taught my nine and ten o’clock classes, and when I came back to the office, the Dean was here. And as I walked in, I said, “Good morning, Dean Rutherford.”

“Good morning, Miss Nez.”, the Dean said. “I just stopped in to see how the project was coming along.”

“After we fixed my goof, it’s going fine.”

“Kai.”, Dr. Joe said. “Stop cutting yourself down. Anyone could have made that mistake.”

“The breadboard was fine, but I messed up on the printed circuit board.”

“Was it fixable, Miss Nez?”, the Dean said.

“Yes.”, I replied. “But it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

“Miss Nez, people make mistakes. And nothing was hurt by it.”

“Dean, I know. It just upsets me.”

“This wasn’t the first time that something like this has happened to you. Was it?”

“No, sir. It wasn’t.”

“And, Miss Nez, I’ll guarantee it won’t be the last.”

“I know. It just bums me out.”

Then I said, “Dean, I have something for you.”

“What’s that, Miss Nez?”, the Dean asked.

I opened my briefcase and took out the brochures from the resort, and as I handed it to him, I said, “This.”

The Dean took the brochure, looked at it, and said, “What’s this for?”

“Remember when we were talking about doing the brochure for the university, and I told you that I’d done one for the resort that my aunt and uncle run?”

“Of course.”

The Dean looked through the brochure, then said, “Miss Nez, I didn’t see a picture of you in here.”

I just looked at Dr. Joe. And Dr. Joe said, “Dean, look at the front cover.”

The Dean looked at the cover, then look at me, then looked back at the cover and said, “Miss Nez, this is you?”

“Yes, sir.”, I replied. “About three years ago. And there’s a couple more inside.”

“I thought that this was a professional model. You do take a nice picture.”

“Those were all taken by a professional photographer in the area around the resort.”

“Can I have this?”

“Of course.”

The Dean left, and Dr. Joe and I continued with our testing. As we were working, I said, “I can’t believe that he didn’t recognize me in the brochure.”

“There are times that he can’t see the forest for the trees.”, Dr. Joe said.

“We should give this circuit at least a twelve-hour test before we turn it over to Los Alamos.”, I said.

“You’re right.”

“We started at seven this morning, so we could probably call it at seven tonight.”, I said.

“Could you be back here by five?”, Dr. Joe asked. “I’m good until then.”

“No problem. Ajie’s working till ten tonight, and I may just let it run until then.”

“Do you two ever see each other?

“We make it a point to see each other. We knew from the get-go that with Ajie working in the emergency room that her schedule could be crazy. And since she’s only working their part-time, it’s even crazier.”

“I bet it is. But why is she only working part-time?”

“Because of her teaching. She wants both the practical part of nursing, working with patients, and the teaching part. And it was the only way the hospital would do it. She came close to dropping one or the other.”

“But, she didn’t quit either of them.”, Dr. Joe asked. “Did she?”

“No, she and Vickie talked.”, I replied. “But she’s going to take a three-month leave of absence when the twins arrive.”

“I’ll be curious to see if she goes back to teaching or working after those three months.”

“It’ll be interesting. But I think that she may go back to only one or the other at first. Ajie is teaching the new course in spring quarter, so she’ll at least be teaching that course. We’ve also found that the university has an excellent daycare run by the college of education.”

“We’ve heard about the daycare too. We may also look into it for Mark.”

“That would be fun to have Makwa – (Mark) and our two in daycare together.”

“Yeah, that could be fun.”

“I’m going to run and get some dinner, and I’ll be back by five.”, I said.

“I’ll be here.”, Dr. Joe said.

I grabbed my purse and left my briefcase, and headed to the Student Union. When I walked into the faculty dining room, I saw several suit types sitting around a circular table. Along with Dr. Lingham, the President of the University, was the Chairman of the Board of Regents, my dean, Dean Rutherford, and Vickie Etsitty, who is Ajie’s dean. Plus, there were six or eight others.

I was ready to turn around and leave, but President Lingham spotted me and called out, “Miss Nez, come and join us.”

I hesitated as everyone turned and looked at me. Then Vickie said, “Kai, please come and join us.”

With the mood that I was in because of my stupid mistake, I was hesitant to join them. But against my better judgment, I walked over and said, “I don’t want to disturb your meeting.”

“You won’t, Miss Nez.”, President Lingham said. “We’re just grabbing dinner before a meeting. Please join us.”

As I sat, I said, “Okay. But I have to be back at the office by five. We’re running some tests on a project.”

“What project is that, Miss Nez?”, President Lingham asked.

“I’m sorry, sir. But I can’t tell you.”, I replied.

“Oh.”

“Dr. Lingham.”, Dean Rutherford said. “She can’t tell you. It’s something for the Los Alamos National Laboratory.”

“Oh. One of those projects.”

“Yes, sir. It is.”, I said.

Then I asked, “Sir, can I ask who I’m here sitting with?”

“Oh. I’m sorry, Miss Nez.”, President Lingham said. “I know that you know Dean Rutherford and Dean Etsitty. And I think you know Mr. Williams, Chairman of the Board of Regents. Next to him is Dean … ” And the President went on to introduce everyone. All of them were Dean’s of one college or another.

Why is little old me sitting here?

Then he said, “Everyone, this is Miss Kai Nez. She’s a member of the faculty of the Electrical Engineering Department and is also a Research Associate. And many of you may have seen her on the university’s closed-circuit TV hosting the coverage of the launch of Apollo 7.”

I saw some smiles, and one of them said, “That was well done, Miss Nez.”

I just said, “Thank you, sir.”

I was finally able to place my dinner order. And as I was waiting for my meal, Dean Rutherford took something out of his briefcase. And as he handed it to President Lingham, he said, “Dr. Lingham, this is what I was telling you about, and since Miss Nez is here, I thought it would be a good time to show you.”

I looked at what Dean Rutherford was giving the President, and I thought, ‘Oh dear Great Spirit no.’

I then looked at Dean Rutherford and shook my head no.

Dean Rutherford had handed Dr. Lingham the resort’s brochure. Dr. Lingham took it, looked at it, looked at me, and I beat him to the punch when I said, “Yes, sir. That’s me.”

“Very nice picture, Miss Nez.”, President Lingham said as he looked through the resort’s brochure.

“Thank you, sir.”, I mumbled.

Then the President said, “Ladies and gentlemen, Dean Rutherford has asked Miss Nez to be part of the university’s brochure, and she’s said, yes. She then brought this brochure in to show Dean Rutherford.”

Maybe I’d said yes to doing the university’s brochure. But now …

The President then passed the brochure around. And everyone had a good look at it. I was beginning to feel a little unhappy about this whole thing. I don’t know why, but I did. And I wanted out of here. So, when the waitress brought my dinner, I asked, “Miss, could you box that up for me, I need to get back to the office.”

“That won’t be a problem, Miss.” the waitress replied. “I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you.” Then I looked at the President and said, “Sir, you are going to have to excuse me. I just remembered something about that project that I need to check on.”

“That’s all right, Miss Nez.”, President Lingham said. “I understand priorities.”

I caught Vickie’s look. I think she knew that I was unhappy.

As the waitress brought my boxed food, I thanked her and excused myself from the table. Everyone said something which I didn’t hear. But I said, “It was a pleasure to meet all of you. And I’m sorry that I can’t stay.”

I paid my bill as I walked out of the faculty dining room, and then I walked to the office. And as I walked in, Dr. Joe looked at me and said, “Kai, what’s wrong.”

I sat at the work table, ate my dinner out of a box, and told Dr. Joe what had happened in the faculty dining room. As I told him the story, he closed his eyes and shook his head. When I finished, Dr. Joe said, “And you’re upset. Aren’t you?”

“Good guess, Dr. Joe.”

“Do you want to shut the test down and do it later?”

“No, the test is more important then to be interrupted by me being upset by this.”

“I figured that you’d say that.”

“You know me too well, Dr. Joe.”

“I do.”, Dr. Joe said. “And I like what I’m seeing.”

“Go on.”, I said. “Get out of here. I’ll let this run until ten, and then I’ll head home.”

And that’s what I did. I finished my dinner, checked on the meter readings, and wrote them down. I got some reading done, and at a little after nine I started shutting down the test. I put everything that I needed to into the file cabinet, set the alarm, locked up the office, and headed home.

As I pulled into the garage, I noticed that Ajie’s car was there. It’s not even ten yet, what’s she doing home early?

As I got out of the car, I saw Ajie standing at the door. I walked up to her and asked, “What are you doing home so early?”

She put her hands on her hip and, in a sarcastic way, said, “Well, welcome home, and I love you too.”

“I’m sorry. Hi. I love you.”

“That’s a little better.”

We hugged and kissed.

Then again, I carefully asked, “So, why are you home this early?”

“I got phone calls at work from a couple of very worried friends of ours.”, Ajie replied. “And luckily we weren’t busy. So, I came home to check on you, because I thought that you’d be here. And you weren’t.”

“I stayed until the test on the project was finished. Who were the friends?”

“Vickie and Dr. Joe.”

“Figures.”

“Love, realize that you have some terrific friends.”

“I know. And I appreciate them.”

“I’ve got a fire going out in the courtyard.”, Ajie said. “Let’s go talk out.

“Okay.”, I replied. “But first, I need another kiss and a hug.”

And I got those. The hug was one that was amazing, and I didn’t want to let go of Ajie. But I did. 

We then went out into the courtyard. And Ajie did have a roaring fire going.

As we at, I saw two glasses and a pitcher of sangria sitting on the coffee table. And Ajie said, “I thought that you might like some.”

“More than you know.”, I replied. And I poured each of us a glass.

“Okay. Now, what’s going on?”

“I’ve been in a strange mood all day.”

“Why?”, Ajie asked. “Is something going on with the project?”

“After making that stupid mistake. It may be.”

“Didn’t Dr. Joe tell you that it happens to everyone. Including you.”

“Yes.”

“Honey. You need to get over it.”

“I know.”, I said.

“Dr. Joe also told me what you told him about what happened in the faculty dining room. And how you felt about it, and that you were unhappy with Dean Rutherford and what he did with the brochure from the resort. And Vickie gave me the inside scoop of what went on in the faculty dining room.”

“Yeah.”, I said sarcastically. “To start with, I wasn’t happy about being around all the suit types. The only saving grace was that Vickie was there. But when Dean Rutherford pulled what he did with the brochure, it just made me feel used. I’d given him the brochure to look at and not use as something to showcase me.”

“Did you tell him that when you gave him the brochure?”

“I guess I didn’t.”

“Then can you blame him?”, Ajie asked. “And you know how good those pictures of you are.”

“I guess I can’t blame him.”, I replied. “Can I?”

“No, you can’t. Vickie told me that she saw your expression change when Dean Rutherford showed everyone the brochure. And what she saw worried her.”

“What I was feeling worried me too. That’s why I made an excuse and left.”

“After you’d left, Vickie told me that the Dean said nothing but good things about you, including how good your work ethic is. Someone even mentioned an honorary degree for you.”

“I’d never accept an honorary degree.”

“I thought so, and I told Vickie that.”

“Am I looking at this all wrong?”, I asked.

“Love, I think you are.”, Ajie said. “The people at the university love you just like the Navajo people do. And they’re not using you. They see that you can help them add something to what they want to do, and they asked you. It’s not like they’re bending your arm.

“I bet if you’d have said no to doing the brochure, that they would have accepted it without batting an eye.”

“Maybe.”

Ajie and I had been sipping on our sangrias while we talked, and our glasses were empty, so I topped them off. Then I sat back, looked at Ajie for a minute, and then I said, “You know, now I’ve got to think about those twins and you. And I’ve got to learn to handle mistakes when they happen and not get upset over them. And I’ve got to not let the little things, like that brochure, get to me.”

“Honey.”, Ajie said. “You’ve made the first steps in doing those things. We’ve talked about them, and you’ve admitted that they bother you. Now all you have to do is not let them get to you.