The Dean, Dr. Joe, a detective from the University’s Police Department, and me, had gotten together with a Thomas Huffman who was the one who supposedly stole the exam. He wasn’t. We located my student who’d given me the note, and he pointed out the guy who he thought was Thomas Huffman. He was a big guy, and when the detective confronted him, he hurt the detective. And then I stood in his way, he shoved me dislocating my left shoulder, but I was able to grab his arm and to use his momentum to guide him into a door frame. All three of us went to the hospital’s ER.

A doctor was able to move my arm around and put the joint back together. Amy was there and giving me a hard time. After I was released, Amy and I started walking towards the ER’s parking lot.

As we walked, I asked, “Did you drive over?”

“Of course.”, Amy said. “After what Sally told me, I figured that you couldn’t or wouldn’t want to walk home.”

“Sally?”

“The nurse that was in triage.”

“Oh. She did call you?”

“Of course she did.”

As we walked up to the car, I went to get in the driver's door, and Amy said, “Just where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m going to drive.”, I replied.

“No, you’re not. I am.”

“No. I’m going to.”

“Kai! You’re hurt and were just in the ER. You shouldn’t drive. Besides you can’t use your left arm.”

“I’ll be fine.”

As Amy started to walk away from the car, she said, “Okay. You drive, and I’ll walk. See you at home.”

“You’re walking?”

“Yes, if you’re driving.”

“All right. All right. You can drive.”

Amy then drove us to the apartment. As she pulled the car into the garage, Amy said, “And, guess what?”

“What?”, I asked.

“I’m driving us to the resort.”

“And, I figure that if I insist on driving that you’re going to walk.”

“You got it, lover.”

“Okay, you can drive.”

“And, I’m going to drive until you’re out of that sling.”

“Your wish is my command, your Majesty.”

Once we were inside, Amy said, “I’ll be right back. I’m going to the drug store and fill your prescription.”

“Okay.”, I replied.

As Amy left, I curled up on the couch and was quickly asleep.

Sometime later Amy woke me up with a kiss, handed me a pill, and a glass of water. Then she asked, “Want to go out for burgers?”

“Sure. I could use a ginger ale milkshake. But, I could really use a sangria.”

“No sangria while you’re on the painkillers.”

We did go out for burgers, fries, and shakes. And, I didn’t argue with Amy about her driving us. Our friendly carhop was there, and Amy had to explain why I wasn’t driving. Then he said, “Did you hear about the big commotion in the engineering building?”

“No.”, Amy said. “What happened.”

“I guess there was a big fight. A couple of people got hurt. And, someone got arrested.”

“No, we didn’t hear anything about it. If the campus paper was still being published, it might be in there tomorrow.”

“It’ll probably be in the Journal.”, our friendly carhop said.

“Probably.”, I said.

Our carhop ran off to help someone else, and I said, “Yeah. A big fight. A big fight of a whole thirty seconds.”

“But, leave it to you to be in the middle of it.”, Amy said.

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“Yes, you did. You could have stepped out of the way, and let the guy go.”

I looked at Amy, and said, “Would that have been me?”

“No. I’m just worried that you might be badly hurt or worse.”

“I know. I worry about that too.”

“So, pick your battles a little better.”

“Yeah. But, this one was personal.”

“Yeah. A little bit too close to home.”

We went back to the apartment, cuddled together on the couch, and listened to music. Then it was an early bedtime.

I had a hard time getting comfortable in bed. This shoulder kept letting me know what I’d done to it. I finally gave up and went down to the couch. It took me a few minutes, but I found a comfortable position. And, I was able to get a few hours sleep, before I heard Amy come downstairs.

Amy walked over the couch, knelt, kissed me, and said, “Couldn’t get comfortable. Huh?”

“No.”, I replied. “Damn arm wouldn’t let me sleep.”

“Did you take another pain pill?”

“No, I don’t like how they make me feel.”

“I can understand that. I’ve got a final at nine. I’m going to shower, and then we can make some breakfast.”

Amy went off to her Thursday exam, and I went to work grading exams. It took me longer than it should have thanks to this arm. But, I persisted and got them done just before Amy got back.

When Amy came back from her last final, she walked in with a newspaper, the Albuquerque Journal, in her hands. She unfolded it and held it up, and the headline said, ‘Fight at U. of NM injures three, hospitalizes two.’

I shook my head, and asked, “Did they mention names.”

“I haven’t read the article yet.”, Amy replied. “So, I don’t know.”

Then as she handed me the paper, she said, “Here. You read it while I make lunch.”

I took the paper, sat at the table, and read the article. I was pleasantly surprised twice. The paper actually had the facts close to being accurate, and they didn’t mention my name. They only said that a coed was slightly injured during the fight. Slightly injured? Yeah right. They did mention that a Kenneth Kowalski of Denver had been arrested and faced numerous charges. And also that a Detective Edwards had been injured in the fray.

After I finished the article, I said, “Well, they got their information correct and didn’t mention my name.”

“That’s a good thing.”, Amy replied.

After lunch, Amy finished grading her exams and filling out her grade report to turn into the Registrar’s Office. Then we took a walk to campus and dropped off our grade reports.

As we were walking across campus on the way home, we ran into Jackie and Charlie. When they saw us, Jackie said, “Kai, what happened to you?”

“If you have a couple of hours, I’ll tell you.”, I replied.

“You looked fine when I saw you yesterday.”, Charlie said.

“A lot can happen in a few seconds. Are you heading back to your apartment?”

“Yeah.”

“So are we. Why don’t you stop over and I’ll tell you the whole story.”

After we were back at the apartment and I’d told Jackie and Charlie the story of the stolen exam, Jackie said, “I don’t believe someone would do that.”

“People will do almost anything if they need money.”, Amy replied.

“I guess so. Kai, you’re lucky that you weren’t hurt any worse.”

“I guess.”, I replied. “But, I just couldn’t let him get away.”

“Still.”, Charlie said. “You should have let the police do their job.”

“In hindsight, you’re right. But it’s over with.”

“How long do you have to wear the sling?”

“Not sure. We’ll have to see how quickly I heal.”

“Maybe you’ll heal as quickly as Charlie did.”, Jackie said.

“Hopefully.”, I replied.

“Are you still going to be able to take us to the airport tomorrow?”

“Of course.”, I replied. “But, you’ll have to put up with Amy’s driving.”

“Thanks!”, Amy said. “I drive better than you do.”

“No, you … ”

“Don’t go there, or you’ll be walking to the resort.”

I just glared at her.

The four of us ate dinner together.

Charlie and Jackie had a nine o’clock flight. So, Friday morning at eight we were pulling up in front of the airport. A Skycap grabbed their bags out of the trunk, and we got hugs from Charlie and Jackie as we said so long. Of course, I said, “Hágoónee' and have a safe flight.”

The Skycap smiled at me, and said, “Yá’át’ééh abiní – (Good morning).”

I looked at him, smiled, and said, “Yá'át'ééh, nizhonigó íiná aadóó hozhónahasdlíí - (Hello! It is good, and all is harmony around us.)”

“It’s not often that I hear Diné - (Navajo) spoken here.”

“Not many here speak it. But, I like to use it when I can. And, our friends know that we never say, goodbye. We only say, Hágoónee' or see you later.”

“Hágoónee' is good.”

“Yes, it is.” Then I looked at Jackie and Charlie, and said, “We’ll see you two on the thirtieth.”

“You’ll be back from Ohio by then?”, Charlie asked.

“Yes, we’re coming back on the twenty-eighth. We have things to do before classes start next quarter.”

Then we watched as Jackie, Charlie, and their luggage disappeared into the terminal, then Amy drove us home. I had one last exam today at ten. So, it wasn’t much later that I was walking to campus.

This was the class that was taught by Professor Donaldson. When I walked into the classroom, the professor and I were the only ones there. Professor Donaldson looked at me, and said, “Miss Nez, are you all right?”

“Yes, Professor, I am.”, I replied. “I just hurt my shoulder.”

“Yes, I know. And, I heard that you hurt someone else doing it.”

“I guess maybe I did.”

“I’ve never had anyone steal one of my exams.”

“I’m glad to hear that. It made me feel violated.”

“But, did you have to react that way.”

“Sir, back when I was at Ohio State, I was attacked by a group of guys, and I couldn’t defend myself, and they put me in the hospital. Since then I’ve learned to defend myself. And I was put in a position Wednesday where I had to defend not only myself but another person. So, I reacted. Yes, I got hurt, but we put an end to a bad thing.”

“Miss Nez, you’re a very strong person. aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir. I guess I am.”

This exam took me only an hour, and I was the first one done. As I turned my exam in, I said, “Thank you for an interesting class professor.”

Professor Donaldson got up and walked with me to the classroom door. When we were there, he said, “Miss Nez, thank you for being in my class. You’ve opened my eyes to the native people and other things.”

I smiled, and said, “Hágoónee', Professor Donaldson.”

“What does that mean, Miss Nez?”

As I turned to walk away, I said, “It means, see you later.”

“Hágoónee', Miss Nez.”

I then walked to Dr. Joe’s office, but he wasn’t there. So, I went to the Dean’s office, and as I walked in, Sara saw me, and said, “Kai, I heard what happened. Are you okay?”

“I will be. I just wanted to stop in and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”

“The same to you, Kai.”, Sara and Patti said.

“Yes, the same to you, Miss Nez.”, a male voice said.

I turned and looked. Then, I said, “And to you and yours, Dean Rutherford.”

“How’s your arm?”

“It hurts. But, it’ll get better.”

“Yes, it will. You know that the police have found out a lot more about our friend.”

“Our friend?”

“Mr. Kowalski.”

“No friend of mine. What did they find.”

“Once they got a search warrant and got into his dorm room they found other exams. I guess he’s been doing this for the past couple of years.

“They also found a set of lock picks. It appears that he worked for his father while he was in high school and summers while in college. And, his father owns a locksmith’s shop.”

“A locksmith. His dad isn’t going to be happy. And, I didn’t think that they needed a search warrant for the university dorms?”

“They don’t. But, the police wanted to cover all of the bases with this guy.”

“I guess it’s good that we got him?”

“Yes, and he’ll be gone from the university and probably spending some time in prison.”

“We can only hope.”

“And.”, the Dean said. “We think we may know why the Kowalski boy used Thomas Huffman’s name.”

“Oh.”, I said. “Why?”

“They were dorm roommates during their freshman year and didn’t get along at all. It was more that Kowalski didn’t like Thomas. They were complete opposites Kowalski was a jock and Thomas was the academic type.”

“I can see that causing some friction.”

“It did to the point of Thomas requesting a change of rooms.”

“And, that didn’t go over well with Kowalski?”

“Not at all. Especially when it was him that got moved.”

As I was leaving the Dean’s office, I checked my faculty mailbox, and there was an envelope in it. Written on the front was, ‘Kai, open this when you’re at the resort.’, and it was signed, Dr. Joe. I put the envelope in my purse.

I left the Dean’s office and went over to the bookstore, and they had gotten in the instructor’s guide for the book that we were going to use for the new course. So, I’d have something to read on the airplane ride home.

Then I headed for the apartment. As I walked in, I smelled them, and I said, “Amy, you didn’t?”

“I did.”, Amy replied. “I thought we’d celebrate the end of our exams.”

“I couldn’t think of a better way.”

Amy had put together frybread tacos for lunch. Oh yum!

After lunch, we started packing so we could get an early start for our stay at the resort. We’d purchased Christmas gifts for both of my aunts and both of my uncles, and even something for Naainish, so those got packed.

As we headed north to the resort on Saturday morning, it sure felt weird to have Amy driving. But, all kidding aside, she’s a good driver. Another nice thing about not being the driver is I could look at the scenery.

We pulled into the resort and up to my aunt and uncle’s house. As we walked into the house, I set the camera case on the kitchen counter, my aunt saw me, she put her hands on her hips, and said, “Young lady, what happened to you?”

“Do you have a copy the Thursday's edition of the Albuquerque Journal?”, I asked.

“There should be one in the stack of papers by the fireplace. If we didn’t use it to start a fire.”

As I walked over to the paper stack, Aunt Ruth asked Amy, “What did she do?”

“Wait. You’ll see.”, Amy replied.

I dug down through the papers until I found the front section of Thursday's newspaper. I walked back over to Aunt Ruth, held up the paper, and said, “Read the headline.”

Aunt Ruth looked at the paper, then said, “You were involved in this?”

“Afraid so.”

“I read that article when the paper came out. It’s obvious that you’re not one of the two that are in the hospital, so what happened to you?”

“It’s a long story. Can it wait until Uncle Paul is here?”

“Sure honey. He’ll be here at Noon for lunch.”

“Good. That will give us time to go and soak in one of the thermal pools. I’m hoping that it will help my arm.”

“You have time. And, the waters will help that arm.”

“How about the spirits?”

“They may also.”

“Oh. Aunt Ruth, could we leave our silver here while where in Ohio?”

“Sure honey. Is there something wrong with the safe?”

“No, we’d just feel better if it was somewhere with people around.”

“Leave it in the floor safe in your room and take the key with you. And, I’ll tell your uncle.”

“Thanks, Aunt Ruth.”

Amy and I unpacked the car. The camera case went into the floor safe. Then we took our swimsuits and bathrobes and headed for the Main Bathhouse. I removed my sling, then after we’d slipped into our bathing suits, we ran through the cold December air to the Kiva Pool. Then we slipped into the pool, and the warm water felt so good. We soaked quietly for an hour, got out of the pool, slipped on our bathrobes, and ran back to the Main Bathhouse.

After we’d showered, and changed we headed back to the house. As we walked, I said, “That soak felt great, and I think it loosened up my shoulder a bit.”

“Don’t overdo it.”, Amy said. “But, I figure that the thermal pools will do it some good.”

As we walked into the house, both my aunt and uncle were there. Uncle Paul just shook his head, then said, “Kai, you just can’t stay out of trouble. Can you?”

“Uncle Paul.”, I said. “It just seems to find me.”

“So, tell us how you made the paper without getting your name in it?”

As Amy and I helped Aunt Ruth make a nice Southwestern salad for lunch, I filled them in on what happened with the stolen exam. When I finished, Uncle Paul said, “Kai, you could have been hurt worse than you were.”

“I know Uncle Paul.”, I said. “Things just happened, and I couldn’t let that guy get away after what he did to the detective.”

“I know. But, you’ve got to be more careful.”

“I know. I’ve got to think more about Amy.”

“And, yourself.”, Amy said.

I just looked at her and nodded yes.

That afternoon was just a relaxing afternoon. We got a nice fire going in the fireplace and Amy, now Ajie, and I curled up on the couch and read. I was reading the book for the new course, and I wasn’t sure what Ajie was reading.

After we’d been sitting there for about an hour, something hit me, the envelope from Dr. Joe. He didn’t want me to open it until we were here at the resort. I got up, walked to our room, retrieved the envelope out of my purse, and brought it back to the couch. As I sat down, Ajie asked, “What’s that?”

“Dr. Joe left an envelope for me in my faculty mailbox.”, I replied. “And asked that I not open it until we were here.”

“That’s strange.”

“I thought so too.”

I opened the envelope and removed four sheets of paper. The first was a handwritten note from Dr. Joe. And it said,

‘Kai,

‘All kidding aside. After working with you on the project this quarter and receiving input on your teaching. The Dean and I both feel that you should seriously consider bypassing your masters and work on your doctoral.

‘The other papers enclosed are information on a doctoral program that bypasses the master's program. I know you want to do your masters, but you could go back and do that later. Earning your doctoral would open doors for you.

‘Please look over the information, and think about it during the break. Also, show this to Amy. Then we’ll talk.

'And, the Dean and I will both write letters of recommendation if you decide to apply to the doctoral program. Your undergraduate grades were excellent. And, from what I’ve heard from the professors of your master’s level classes you are doing very well in those classes.

‘Mary and I wish you, Amy, and your family a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

‘Stay out of trouble,

‘Dr. Joe.’

I read it twice, and then I gave it to Ajie to read. She took it, read it, looked at me, and said, “It sounds like they’re serious about the doctoral thing.”

“It does.”, I replied. “What do you think?”

“Love. I think it’s the trail that you’re traveling. And that you are at a fork in the trail. One path will take you to a master’s degree, then maybe a doctoral degree. And, the other path will lead you directly to a doctoral degree.

“You have worked exceptionally hard this past quarter. Not only to complete the research project but on rebuilding the two classes that you taught. Your students love you, not because you are a pretty girl, but because you know your subject and how to explain it in a way that helps your students understand and learn it.

“I want you to give this idea serious consideration like you do other important things, and not just toss it aside. Promise me?”

I looked at her for a few seconds, then I said, “Amylin Elizabeth Young, I love you so much.”

She smiled, and said, “No more than I love you.”

“And, yes, I promise you that I’ll give it serious consideration.”

Ajie said, “I knew that you would.” Then she went back to her reading.

I read over the other papers that were in the envelope. This whole thing was piquing my interest. So, I read them a second time. Then I sat there looking into the fire, thinking. Did I make a decision? No. There was someone that I needed to talk to about this. Maybe two people.

I sat there watching the fire for a little while, then I said, “Want to go for a walk?”

“Sure.”, Amy said. “Where?”

We changed into warm clothes and hiked up the cliff trail. When we were up on the cliff, we continued to where the little tree was. We stood there and looked at it for a few minutes. Then Amy said, “Honey, you’re awful quiet.”

“Sorry.”, I said.

“You have a lot on your mind.”

“Yeah. The upcoming quarter. The new class. This thing with the doctoral. The new Los Alamos project. Us.”

“Us?”

“Yeah. I want out of that apartment. But, I like the closeness to the university.”

“I thought that you were thinking about that.”

“How come?”, I asked.

“Some of the things you say.”, Amy replied. “You talk about not being able to see the stars. About wanting to see the mountains. About being too close to people. About how much you loved the cabin in the mountains. And, you don’t call the apartment home, you just call it the apartment. You do know I feel the same way.”

“I thought that you did. But, with both of us teaching, taking classes, and working at the university shouldn’t we be somewhat close?”

“Probably, but not as close as we are.”

“Like what?”

“Maybe within a half an hour of the university.”

“We’d need two cars.”, I said.

“We have two cars.”, Amy replied.

“Okay, three cars.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t drive the ‘57 on campus?”

“No way.”

“You’re just like your dad.”

“That’s not bad. Is it?”

“Of course not.”

We finally got cold and walked back down the trail and into the hotel. My uncle was at the registration desk, he saw us, and said, “You two didn’t go for a hike. Did you?”

“Sure.”, I said. “We just went up to see the little tree.”

“Isn’t it too cold.”

“Where are we from, Uncle Paul? The Midwest. This, out here, isn’t cold.”

“That’s easy for you to say.”, Ajie said.

“By the way, Naainish is coming to dinner tonight.”, Uncle Paul said.

“Any reason?”

“You know Naainish. He didn’t say, but he knew you two were going to be here for a few days.”

“It’ll be good to see him.”, Ajie said.

“It will.”, I added.

“We’d better go see if Aunt Ruth needs help with dinner.”

“She’d like that.”, Uncle Paul said.

“Okay. We ‘ll see you later, Uncle Paul.”

As we walked up to the house, there was a familiar pickup truck parked out front. Naainish’s pickup. I quipped, “Early as usual.”

“Be nice.”, Ajie said. “You know he enjoys our company.”

“I’ll be nice.”, I replied.

We walked into the house, and Naainish was sitting at the kitchen table talking to Aunt Ruth. He looked at us, shook his head, and said, “Kai, what did you do?”

“Aunt Ruth.”, I asked. “Do you still have that newspaper?”

“It’s on the desk in your uncle's office.”, Aunt Ruth replied.

I walked into my uncle's office and brought the newspaper back out. I set the paper down in front of Naainish and said, "Read this."

Naainish picked up the paper and read the article while Ajie and I started helping my aunt with dinner. With only one hand, I did what I could. Like, set the table.

When Naainish finished the article, he said, “Kai, there is no mention of you in here.”

“I know, and I’m happy about it.”

“So, what do you have to do with this?”

“A lot. …. ”, and I went on to fill Naainish in on how I fit into the incident that the article talked about.

When I finished, Naainish was shaking his head. Then he said, “You fear nothing, Kai Nez.”

“Naainish, I was scared. I’ve been scared when anything like this has happened. But, something inside helps me to react in a positive way to these things. And so far everything has worked out for the best.”

“Kai Nez, I see a long, happy life for you and Ajie. But, you still need to be careful.”

“Believe me, Naainish. I try to be careful.”

“We both do.”, Ajie added.

We put together a great Southwestern dinner. And we had cinnamon crisps and fruit salad for dessert. Where my aunt gets fresh fruit at this time of the year, I’ll never know.

As we were eating dessert, Naainish asked, “Kai, are you busy tomorrow?”

“No.”, I replied. “We just here to relax and visit.”

“Could I get you and Ajie to come with me on a visit?”

“A visit?”

“Like you did with the sheep rancher.”

“Your father?”

“Yes, my father.”

“Who?”

“Someone that you know in Taos. Someone that has asked to see you.”

“Someone that I know in Taos?

“Oh, Great Spirit not your Uncle Sike?”

“No, Kai Nez. Not my Uncle Sike. It’s Tribal Governor Cochiti.”

“Oh no!”

I felt tears well up in my eyes and start running down my cheeks. It took me a couple of minutes, but I was finally able to ask, “Wh … What happened?”

“He was diagnosed with cancer, a fast-growing cancer. He’s at home. And he has asked to see you.”

“This is going to kill Charlie.”

“Charlie?”

“A friend of ours. He and the Governor met and became fast friends. And Charlie and his wife are back home for Christmas.

“When do you want to go to Taos?”

“Tomorrow.”

“When tomorrow?”

“Around ten.”

“We can drive.”

“That would be good. I’ll be here at ten.”

“Naainish, this has ruined my Christmas.”

Naainish left about an hour later, and I asked, “Where’s he staying?”

“Probably at the remote hogan.”, Aunt Ruth said,

“Why there when there’s a spare bedroom here.”

“He’s Naainish and feels more at home there.”

An hour later, Ajie and I were soaking in one of the thermal pools. I still can’t believe how good the warm water makes my shoulder feel. While we soaked, we talked about the Governor.