Also, at the gathering, we’d run into the mother of the girl who is carrying the twins. And for some reason, I was very nervous. And we ended up having a talk with our friends about the adoption.

Then on Friday, we’d taken a run up to The Rug House where Ajie and I did buy two christening blankets because we wanted something special to do something special with. And Charlie and Jackie bought a blanket. We told the owner of The Rug House about the adoption.

Then when we were back at the resort, we’d gotten a call from Shilah, one of the employees of the resort. A guest had been hurt earlier in a car wreck and now wasn’t feeling good. We all went over to the hotel, Ajie checked him out, and she figured he had a brain hemorrhage. She’d called for a helicopter. And the pilot of the helicopter was Connor, the brother of our friend Kelly. It was a U.S. Air Force helicopter, but Connor’s a Marine. Why was he flying an Air Force helicopter?

We all slept in on Saturday morning. One of the first things that I did was look at the thermometer that my uncle had on the back patio, and it is cold out there. It was 22°F. I went and started a fire in the fireplace. And when I told Ajie what the temperature was, she said, “It sounds like we need a hot breakfast.”

“That would be good.”, I said. “I was hoping to go for a hike, but unless it warms up and the winds die down, I don’t see it happening.”

“Count me out.”, Jackie said. “It’s too cold.”

Ajie and Jackie then put together an excellent breakfast for us. And as we were eating, Jackie said, “Charlie, go on and tell them.”

“Tell us what?”, I asked.

“Jackie and I talked last night about what we’re doing next summer.”, Charlie said.

“And?”

“We decided that it’s important for us to have both the income from me working for your uncle, and for Jackie to do her clinicals. So, we decided to take you up on your offer for Jackie to stay with you the four weeks of her clinicals.”

I saw Ajie smile, then she said, “I’m glad you decided to do that.”

“I just hope that I can work with you in the ER.”, Jackie said.

“By then, things with the twins may have settled down, and I may be back to working at the hospital.”

“I know that you’re taking a leave of absence winter quarter, but what are you going to do with the twins after that when you’re both on campus?”

“The university has a good daycare program for faculty, staff, and students. It’s staffed by educators trained in early childhood development with the help of the students from the College of Education.”

“I should have known that you’d have that all figured out.”

Ajie smiled and said, “I wish we did. We know having two babies in the house full time will be a learning thing. That’s why our mothers are coming out for a couple of weeks.”

“That will be a big help.”, Jackie said. “And if we can help in any way, just ask.”

“Oh, we will.”

I’m not going to bore you with the rest of Saturday. Other than to say that we took a drive to Santa Fe, and when we were back at my aunt and uncle’s house, it was a nice relaxing evening in front of the fire.

Sunday morning, after breakfast, I walked up to the hotel and was lucky to find Shilah working at the front desk. I said, “Yá’át’ééh abiní – (good morning), Shilah.”

“Yá’át’ééh abiní, Miss Kai.”, Shilah replied.

“Have you heard from Mrs. Hill?”

“No, we haven’t, Miss Kai.”

“We’re getting ready to go back to Albuquerque, and we want to find out about the car.”

“I know.”

“I’ll have Ajie call the hospital and see what she can find out.”

“Please let me know what you find out, Miss Kai.”

“We’ll do that, Shilah.”

When I was back at the house, I told, Ajie, Charlie and Jackie what Shilah had told me. Ajie picked up the phone and dialed. I heard her ask for patient information and then for a patient named Hill. Then she looked puzzled. Then I heard her ask to be transferred to the emergency room.

When someone in the ER answered Ajie said, “Leslie, this is Ajie Nez.” … “I’m doing good. You okay?” … “I bet. You’re due to have that baby in what two months?” … “Well, good luck.” … “What I’m calling about is a Mr. Hill who came in by helicopter on Friday night with head injuries. We’re trying to run down his wife. Their car is up here at the Ojo Caliente resort, and we were going to bring it down with us today. But patient information has nothing on him.” … “Okay, I’ll hold.”

Ajie looked at us and said, “They don’t have a record of a patient with the last name of Hill.”

“I’m here, Leslie.” … “I see. His name is William Harrell. And he’s in intensive care.” … “Thanks, Leslie. Could you transfer me to the ICU’s nurse’s station.” … “Thanks.”

Ajie looked at us and said, “His name’s not Hill.”

“So, we heard.”, I said.

A minute later, we heard Ajie say, “Mrs. Adams, this is Ajie Nez. I’m a nurse in the ER. You have a patient by the name of William Harrell there?” … “Okay. Is his wife there?” … “Good. Could I speak to her.” … “Thank you. I’ll hold.”

Ajie gave us a confused look, then she said into the phone, “Mrs. Harrell. This is Ajie Nez, I’m a nurse, and I spoke with you Friday night at the resort when your husband was hurt.” … “The Ojo Caliente resort.” … “You weren’t here.” … “Don’t yell at me, Mrs. Harrell.” … “Well, your car is here. Like we said, we were going to bring it down when we came down to Albuquerque later today. But, not after you’ve yelled at me like that!” … “I see.” … “I’ll leave the keys at the desk of the hotel.” … “Yes, it’s about two hours north of Albuquerque.” … “The phone number of the hotel?” … “Yes, it’s 505-555-1212.”

Ajie hung up the phone, looked at us. And said, “That was interesting.”

“How so?”, I asked.

“I’ve got to tell Shilah this, so come with me, so I only have to tell it once.”

Ajie, Charlie, Jackie, and I walked to the hotel and the front desk. Shilah looked at us as we walked up and asked, “Did you find out anything, Miss Kai?”

“This is a can of worms, Shilah.”, Ajie said. “I just spoke with Mr. Hill’s wife. First, Mr. Hill isn’t Mr. Hill. He’s William Harrell. And the woman that was here with him wasn’t his wife.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. I just spoke to a Mrs. Harrell, who I assume is his wife. And she wasn’t very nice to me on the phone. She yelled at me like I was the woman that was with him. Then she asked us to leave the car here, and she’d arrange for it to be picked up. So, Shilah, I’ll put this into your capable hands.”

“I’ll handle it, Miss Ajie.”

“I know you will.”

Then I said, “Shilah, we’re leaving right after lunch, so there shouldn’t be anyone around the house until my aunt and uncle get home. Hágoónee' - (See you later), Shilah.”

“Hágoónee' t'áá ájíltso - (See you later all people [everyone]).”, Shilah replied.

As we walked back to the house, I said, “So, maybe Mr. Harrell was here with his mistress. And maybe that’s the reason that she didn’t want to get on the helicopter?”, I said.

“Sounds that way.”, Ajie replied. “This place is a little expensive for a one night stand.”

“Maybe it’s an ongoing thing. And he took her to a place that they’d enjoy.”, I said. “I brought you here.”

“Of course you did. But, I’m your one and only.”

I was going to say something stupid, but thought better of it, and said, “You’d better believe it.”

Back at the house, we got everything packed up and fixed lunch. After we’d finished lunch, we cleaned up the house, including removing the ashes from the fireplace, packed the car, and headed south. Two hours later, we were home. Charlie and Jackie transferred everything, including their new blanket, from our car to theirs. We said so long with hugs, and they headed to their apartment at the university.

We unloaded our things from the car. And took the two cradleboards, two rug hangers, and two christening blankets into the bedroom that we were using to store the things for the twins. Then the silver jewelry got put away. And we went to our room and unpacked.

As we were unpacking, I looked at Ajie and asked, “Have I told you today how much I love you?”

“Yes, this morning when we were getting out of bed.”, Ajie replied.

As I took her in my arms, I said, “I’ve got to do it more than that.” Then I kissed her—a sweet, long, deep kiss.

“Is that enough?”, Ajie, with a mischievous smile, asked as we broke the kiss.

“Never.”

I pushed her down on the bed and …

A little over an hour later, we were going through the refrigerator and the pantry looking for something to make for dinner. Finally, Ajie said, “We’ve got to go grocery shopping.”

“I know.”, I replied. “What do you want to do?”

“Nunzio's or the drive-in?”

“Either one is fine by me.”

“Let me make a phone call before we leave.”

Ajie walked over and dialed the phone. And by the way she dialed the phone I could tell that it was long distance. Then I listened as she talked to our friend Kelly back in Ohio. When Ajie hung up, she said, “That probably was Connor that we saw. Kelly said that he’s a flight instructor. And he’s out here training the Air Force helicopter pilots in close ground night maneuvers.”

“Well, it was good to see him.”, I said.

“I told Kelly that.”

A short time later, we were standing at the end of the line waiting to get into Nunzio's Pizza. It was cold, and we were dressed for it, but some of the people in the line weren’t. So, through attrition and people going inside, we moved fairly quickly, and it only took fifteen minutes to be seated. As we followed the waitress, we heard, “Kai. Ajie.”

We looked toward where the voices were coming from, and we saw Dr. Joe and Mary sitting at a table. Then Dr. Joe said, “We just placed our order. Come and join us.”

I asked our waitress, “Miss, could we sit with them.”

“Sure.”, the waitress said. “I’ll get you another chair.”

I thought, ‘Why do we need another chair.’ Then I looked back over at the table and noticed that Dr. Joe and Mary had little Mark with them in a baby carrier, and it was sitting on one of the chairs. That’s why we need another chair.

We walked over to the table and stood while the waitress got us the other chair. And I said, “We haven’t seen the two of you for a long time.”

“Kai, it’s only been a couple of days.”, Dr. Joe said.

“I know.”

Dr. Joe frowned at me, and said, “Sit down you two.”

Ajie sat, and after the waitress brought the chair, I sat. And I was between Ajie and little Mark. I looked down at him, and he smiled at me. Then Mary said, “With Aunt Kai here, at least he won’t be fussy.”

“He isn’t fussy. Is he?”, I asked.

“You should live with him.”

Ajie and I placed our order, and as we waited, we told them about the guy at the resort who had the head injury. Then we talked about the upcoming finals week and fall commencement, which wouldn’t be as big as the spring commencement. I asked, “Do full-time faculty have to go to the fall commencement?”

“No.”, Dr. Joe said. “It’s not mandatory, but strongly recommended.”

“Good. I don’t have to go.”

“I’m not going either.”

Then Ajie said, “I think I’m ready to submit my doctoral dissertation as soon as I have some copies of my book.”

“Boy, being published and earning your doctoral like that.”, Dr. Joe said. “That’s something.”

“My doctoral is based on the book, so I have to wait for them to come in.”

“When’s that going to be?”

“Soon, I hope.”

Then looking at me, Dr. Joe said, “Now, what about you, Miss Kai Nez?”

“What about me?”, I asked.

“Kai, what about your doctorate?”

“I’m working on it. And I’m fairly close.”, I replied.

“What’s fairly close?”

“The tough part is done. The circuit is designed and built. I just have to put the finishing touches on the dissertation and then have it typed.”

“Don’t forget to get letters of recommendation.”

“From who?”, I asked.

“Me, the Dean, maybe the people from Los Alamos, maybe even President Lingham.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Isn’t that a little overboard.”

“Never.”

“Okay.”

“And, let me proofread your dissertation before you have the final typing done.”

“I was planning on that.”

“I’m about ready to give mine to Vickie Etsitty to read over.”, Ajie said.

“Maybe you’ll both get your doctorates at the same time.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Maybe.”

Just as they delivered Dr. Joe and Mary’s food, little Mark got fussy. I picked him up, he smiled at me, and I said, “You shouldn’t get fussy when mommy and daddy want to eat.”

He grinned and gurgled.

I held him until our food arrived, then I looked at little Mark, and said, “Aunt Ajie and Aunt Kai’s food is here, so I’m going to put you back in your carrier. Is that okay?”

He just smiled at me. Then as I put him into his carrier, he got fussy and started to cry. I went to pick him up again, and Mary said, “You eat. I’ll take care of it.”

Mary picked up Mark, and he quieted down, and Mary managed to finish her meal one-handed.

After we’d finished eating and paid, we were walking to the parking lot, and Dr. Joe said, “Kai, after watching you with Mark, you are going to make a wonderful … ”

“A wonderful what, Dr. Joe?”, I asked.

“I’m … I’m not sure.”

“A mother or father?”

“Yeah. But, ... ”

I saw Dr. Joe blush for the first time ever. So, I said, “I know Dr. Joe. Which is it going to be? Maybe I’ll just be Aunt Kai to the twins. Or they’ll have two moms. We haven’t figured that out yet.”

“I’m sorry.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Don’t be.”

Ajie and I said good night to Dr. Joe, Mary, and Mark. And I guess as I drove home, I was a little quiet. Because as we walked into the house, Ajie asked, “Why so quiet.”

“It’s nothing.”, I replied.

“Wrong, love. Something is bothering you.”

“Yeah. I guess I just realized that no one is ever going to call me daddy.”

Yes, there’s still some guy in me. And the tears started. Ajie took me in her arms, held me, and let me cry.

Finally, we walked into the big room, sat on the couch, and just held each other. Eventually, the tears stopped. We sat back and looked at each other. Then Ajie asked, “Honey, is this adoption going to work?”

“Why wouldn’t it?”, I asked.

“I’m concerned that you’ll become depressed.”

“Why?”

“I was watching when you and Dr. Joe were talking. And he wasn’t sure what to say. Your face just went blank. Like you just realized something.”

“I did. I realized that no one will ever call me daddy. Did it hit me hard? Yes. Will I get over it? Yes. And no matter what the kids call me, except late for dinner, I’ll be happy.

“I may not be their father. I may not look like their father. They may not call me father. But, I’ll be the best damn father that I can be to them.”

Ajie looked at me, shook her head, and said, “You are something else. You go from being almost depressed to waxing philosophical. And, you know … you are going to make a wonderful father.”

“How do you know?”

“With what you just said. Knowing what’s in your heart. And watching you with our friend’s children. They all love you, and you love all of them.”

“I do?”

“Look at the interaction tonight between you and little Mark. He adores you.”

I smiled and said, “I guess he does.”

“No, guess, lover. And, just look at how you interact even with older children.”, Ajie said. “Maybe you should be a teacher. Oh! You are a teacher.”

“Speaking of teaching, we have classes to teach tomorrow.”

“Spoilsport.”

“Why is that m’ lady?”

“I was thinking of other things, my prince.”

“Oh, m’ lady. What might that be?”

“The king is away. Join me in my bed-chamber.”

When I walked into the office after teaching my classes on Monday, Dr. Joe was there. He looked at me and said, “Kai, I’m sorry.”

“Did you do something wrong?”, I asked.

“I’m sorry that I brought up the mother and father thing last night.”

“Dr. Joe, don’t worry about it. Ajie and I had a nice talk last night, and it ended with me saying, I may not be their father. I may not look like their father. They may not call me father. But, I’ll be the best damn father that I can be to them.”

“Kai, knowing you, you will be a marvelous parent.”

To change the subject, I said, “Let’s get you moved back in here.”

“All done.”, Dr. Joe said.

“All done!?”

“There wasn’t that much.”

“Well, welcome back.”

“I’m glad to be back.”

We walked over to the faculty dining room for lunch, then Dr. Joe went back to the office, and I headed home. As I pulled into the garage, I noticed that Ajie wasn’t home yet. Hmm.

I went into the house, dropped my briefcase off in the office, then changed clothes. I then walked out the front door and down the driveway, to rescue the mail and newspaper. As I walked back to the house, I looked at the mail, and there wasn’t much. But there was a delivery notice card from the post office that they had tried to deliver a package for Ajie and that we could pick it up anytime after three.

Ajie was home about half an hour later. I walked out into the garage, and after a welcome home kiss, I helped her carry groceries into the house. After we’d put everything away, I said, “You have some mail.”

“What?”, Ajie asked.

I handed Ajie the delivery notice card from the post office. She looked at it and said, “I’m not expecting anything.”

“I think you are.”

“What am I expecting?”

“Your book.”

“Oh! Yeah! Let’s go get it.”

“Okay. It’s almost three.”

We locked up the house and headed for the post office branch that handles our mail. As I parked, Ajie was out of the car almost before I could stop. I got out and caught up with her just as she opened the door. She walked up to the counter and handed the card to the clerk. The clerk went through a door into the back of the post office, and she was back quickly carrying a package. Ajie signed for it, and we left.

As Ajie got into the car, she opened the package, and said, “It is my book. A dozen copies of it.”

“Good.”, I said. “Can I have a signed copy?”

“If you come to my book signing.”

“What?”

“Just kidding.”

“I thought so.”

When we were back home, Ajie called Vickie and told her that she’d gotten a dozen copies of her book. Vickie was happy and told Ajie to bring her a copy so that she could look it over. Then Ajie told me that she’d taken a copy of her dissertation into Vickie today for her to read over.

After dinner, I lit a fire in the fireplace in the big room, Ajie sat and read over her book. And I glanced over what I’d written for my dissertation.

After a while, Ajie said, “I skimmed over the book, and it looks good. If I wasn’t working in the ER tomorrow, I’d probably sit and read the whole thing tonight.”

“It’s probably a good thing that you're working.”, I said. “You’ve skimmed it. Let that sink in, then take a couple of days to read it over carefully.”

“Good idea. And I’ll also give a copy to Vickie, and if you’ll read it too.”

“You don’t even need to ask.”

Tuesday after my classes, I stopped at the college office. Sara and I exchanged greetings, and I checked my mailbox. There were five envelopes in my box. I took them out and looked at them. All of them were addressed to ‘Miss Kai Nez.’

I opened the envelopes, looked at the contents, and these were from the members of my two Independent Study in Electrical Engineering classes. And these were their papers. I put them in my briefcase and headed to my office. As I walked up to the office, the lights were off, so Dr. Joe wasn’t there.

I spent some time reading over the papers that I’d received, and they were all outstanding. If everyone's papers are this good, it was going to be easy grading them. I left the office without seeing Dr. Joe. That’s unusual.

Ajie and I were home just about at the same time, and right after dinner, Ajie was sitting in front of the fireplace in the big room reading her book. And, so was I.

On Wednesday, I also received seven more papers from my Independent Study classes, and on Thursday, eight more. Seven of those papers were from the students in the Honors Class. So I had all the papers from the students in the honors class. I only needed seven more to have them all for both classes.

I did spend time both on Wednesday and Thursday grading papers and reading Ajie’s book. What was nice about her book was, it wasn’t dry, and I even learned somethings. And I was able to finish it on Thursday afternoon. When I was home, Ajie was already there, and after a wonderful welcome home kiss, I told her that I’d finished her book.

“It took you long enough.”, Ajie said with a cute smile.

“Yeah, and I also read twenty technical papers over the last two days.”, I replied. “And I’m not a speed reader like you are.”

“Want to go over to Vickie’s with me after dinner?”

“Sure. What’s up.”

“I talked to Vickie today. She’s read my dissertation and the book and feels that it's ready. So, I’m giving her the original copy of my dissertation for my doctoral. She’ll make the copies and take care of everything.”

“Oh. Exciting times.”

“Scary times.”

After dinner, I was half tempted to take the ‘57 Chevy out for the drive to Vickie and Chief Tom’s house. But, no I don’t think we will, it’s never been out in the winter. I know this is New Mexico, and we haven’t had any snow yet. So, why not take it.

Ajie and I drove off to Vickie’s house in the ‘57 Chevy. It felt good to have this thing out on the road again. We pulled into the driveway and walked up to the door. Ajie, carrying her briefcase, rang the doorbell, and a short time later, Vickie opened the door. We both received hugs from Vickie as she invited us in.

Chief Tom joined us as we went into the kitchen and sat at the kitchen table. As we sat, Ajie put her briefcase on her lap, opened it, and removed the bound dissertation and a copy of her book. She set them on the table, and said, “There it is for better or for worse.”

“Ajie.”, Chief Tom said, “Believe me, if your dissertation is anything like the book, you’ll have no problems.”

I noticed the Vickie was sitting there, smiling. So, I asked, “What are you smiling about, Vickie.”

“Nothing much.”, Vickie replied. “I’m just thinking about how happy I am for Ajie.”

“I don’t have it yet.”, Ajie said.

“You’re not going to have any problems. Like with Kai, I’ve heard you speak to people, and when you believe in what you’re talking about, you speak with authority. Even your peers in the ER say that when Ajie speaks, everyone listens.”

“So, what’s next?”

“I’ll have copies of your dissertation made, and the grad school will set up a committee that you’ll appear before to defend your dissertation. And that committee will include me since I’m your advisor. If you are successful in defending your dissertation, you will have earned your Ph.D.”

“How long until I meet with the committee?”, Ajie asked.

“Maybe two or three weeks.”, Vickie replied.

“Hmmm.”

“The twins?”

“Yes, that’s going to hit just about the time we have them.”

“You’re not sure when they’ll be born. Are you?”

“Any time from now on. And hopefully before Christmas.”

“We can hold off submitting this to the grad school until you think we should.”

“That might be best.”

“Then I’ll hold it until you’re ready.”

“Good.”

Then Vickie looked at me and said, “Well, Kai, how is yours coming.”

“It’s coming.”, I replied.

“She can’t get excited about it.”, Ajie said.

“Why, Kai.”, Vickie asked.

“Right now I’m doing what I want to do.”, I said. “I’m teaching and doing research. What is a doctoral going to do for me.”

“Kai.”, Chief Tom said. “There is a sense of accomplishment in finishing a higher degree. It shows that you know your subject and are an exceptional researcher. And the recognition that you receive from your peers and others when you have the degree.”

“Why haven’t you gotten a doctoral, Chief Tom.”

“Hanging out with you academic types, I’ve been thinking about it.”

Vickie looked at her husband and said, “Really?”

“Yeah.”, Chief Tom said. “It’s been running around in my head for a little while.”

“So, do it.”

“We’ll see.”

Friday, was the last day of classes. Next week was finals week. Ajie was going to work in the ER from four to midnight tonight after teaching her morning classes. And as we all know that since it’s Friday night that it could get busy, so Ajie might not make it home until much later than midnight.

At the beginning of this quarter, I had told my Independent Study in Electrical Engineering students that I’d be in my office from Noon till four this Friday so that they could turn in their papers. This would allow them to turn in their research papers directly to me up until four. Before today I’d already received twenty-one papers in my mailbox. There is a total of twenty-eight students in the two sections, so I needed seven papers.

After I taught my morning classes, I stopped in the college office to check my mailbox for any research papers, and there were two—five to go. I then went to the office. I had my dissertation with me, and I’d planned on working on that while I waited for seven students to show up.

Dr. Joe was in the office, and I talked him into going to the student center and picking up a sandwich and something to drink for me.

Even with Dr. Joe here, I was able to put two hours into my dissertation before there was a knock on the door. When I said, “Come.” Two students walked into the office and presented me with their papers.

That broke up the afternoon as I sat and read them. That leaves three papers. By three o’clock, I had those papers in my hands. So everyone had written a paper of some kind.

As I was getting ready to leave for the day, Dr. Joe asked, “So, what are you two doing tonight?”

“I’m going home and working on the papers for the Independent Study classes and Ajie’s working in the ER until midnight.”

“Want to join us for dinner?”

“No, I want to get these done. Next week I’ll be busy with the final exams.”

“All work and … ”

“I know. But I’d feel bad without Ajie being there.”

“You two are close. Aren’t you?”

“You know we are.”

“Yeah. I do.”

As I started to walk out of the door, I said, “See you Saturday, Dr. Joe.”

“Sure thing. … Wait. What’s Saturday?”

“The baby shower.”

“You won’t see me there.”

“Why not.”

“I’ve got to watch little Mark. And I’ll bet that Chief Tom won’t be there either.”

“Nice friends.”

“Kai, look at yourself. And realize that a baby shower is a woman’s thing.”

“Oh, you’re right. … Okay, see you on Monday.”

“I’ll be here.”

As I headed home, I got to thinking about what Dr. Joe and I’d talked about. I guess I am a woman. Maybe that was my male spirit, Tom, talking about the baby shower. Oh well, I think a new experience is coming on Saturday.

When I was home, I gathered up all of the papers from my Independent Study students and took them into the big room. It wasn’t long until I had a nice fire going in the fireplace. No, I didn’t use my student’s papers for kindling.

Then I found something for a light dinner. And after eating, I sat in one of the arm chairs in the big room and started reading the papers. After I’d read for a short time, I stopped. I stared into the fire and thought, ‘It would be nice to be able to have some music in here. We need a stereo system.’

I went back to reading and grading papers for another hour. Finally, I gave up on it and walked out into the back courtyard, the Sun had set, so it was cold. I went back into the house and grabbed a coat. Then I walked through the back courtyard and then out into the backyard. The Moon was just past full, so there was a lot of Moonlight. I think the only planet visible was Saturn, and the stars were brilliant. I just stood there looking at everything.

Finally, I got cold and went back into the house, tossed another log on the fire, found a book, and settled in to read until Ajie was home. At a little after midnight the phone rang, when I answered it and it was Ajie, and she was just leaving and should be home by twelve-thirty.

Just before twelve-thirty, I heard the ding from the sensor in the driveway. I got up and went to the door between the house and garage, and just as I opened the door, Ajie pulled into the garage. I watched as she got out of the car, she looked at me and smiled. I returned the smile. She walked over to me, and we just looked at each other. Finally, at the same time, we both started to say, “I sure missed … ” And we both laughed.

We finished our greeting as two lovers would with a deep kiss. After we broke the kiss, Ajie said, “I’m starved. Do we have anything to eat?”

“I’ll throw something together for you.”, I replied. “Go take your shower, and it’ll be ready when you’re done.”

“Keep it light.”

“I will.”

Later as I sat with her, at the breakfast bar, as she ate, Ajie and I talked about our days. Then I said, “I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Ask away.”, Ajie replied.

“I think I have my dissertation finished.”

Ajie looked at me, smiled, and said, “And?”

“Do you think you could read it over and then type it for me?”

“Of course.”

“I also want to send some letters requesting a letter of recommendation.”

“Good idea. We can use mine as a template. Who were you thinking of sending the letters to?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Who knows you best?”

“You.”

“That probably wouldn’t be good.”

“I know. Maybe send them to Chief Kinlicheeny, Naainish, Chief Clah, the people at Los Alamos, Dr. Clark at NASA, Dean Rutherford, Vickie.”

“They should all be academic types. But, the Chiefs and Naainish might be interesting.”

“Chief Clah has his law degree. And I don’t know if Chief Kinlicheeny has a degree or not.”

“True. Who do you want the letters returned to?”

“I guess to me.”

“No, the letters have to be confidential, and you’ll never see them.”

“I don’t know. Maybe Dr. Joe.”

“Since he’s your advisor, I’d say no. I was able to send mine to Vickie. But that was the School of Nursing. I’d check with the grad school and see what they say.”

“I’ll do that.”

We were able to sleep in on Saturday morning. I would have liked to have gone for an early morning walk along the river, but it was a frigid morning, and we needed to be at Chief Tom and Vickie’s house at Noon for lunch and the “surprise” baby shower. My male spirit isn’t too happy about this, but I think my female spirit is looking forward to it.

So, we had a light breakfast and got dressed. We both went with long fancy skirts, fancy blouses, and wrap moccasins. Ajie put her hair into a ponytail, and I put my hair into a single braid with a simple braided leather hairband. We kept our use of jewelry to a minimum, for us. We both wore Concho belts, a couple of bracelets, and a ring or two or three. And for earrings, we chose the matching silver feather ones.

We drove over to Vickie’s house and were surprised to see all the cars parked on the street. We walked up to the door and rang the bell. Vickie quickly opened it. She grinned, and we received hugs, then she whispered, “Remember, act surprised.”

We walked into the living room and couldn’t believe how many people were here. And I hardly knew any of them. We acted surprised when everyone yelled out, “Surprise.”

I figured that most of the girls were from the hospital and the School of Nursing. Of course Mary, Dr. Joe’s wife, was here, and so was Jackie. Then I saw my two aunts, Aunt Ruth and Aunt Ginny.

Then both Ajie and I looked when we heard a familiar voice, almost yell, “Kai. Ajie.” and what we saw was Dibe Bylilly heading our way. And as usually happens with her we got some great hugs.

Then Dibe said, “This is so special. You two adopting a native baby.”

“Thanks, Dibe.”, Ajie said. “But it’s two babies. Twins.”

“Twins! That’s so cool. Are they boys or girls?”

“We don’t know yet. Now, young lady, how is school going?”

“It’s going great. There are even two other girls in the pre-med class with me. And I’m home for Christmas break and just had to come today.”

“We’re glad that you did.”

Just then, Vickie said, “Everyone, since Ajie and Kai are here, we can eat lunch. It’s buffet style and on the dining room table, so help yourself.”

After we’d eaten, we played some silly games, and I won’t bore you with those.

Then Ajie opened the gifts, and we received a lot of beautiful things. Among them, Vickie and Mary gave us a baby bag. Dibe gave us two pairs of baby-sized moccasins. Even though they weren’t here, our parents gave us two car seats. And our aunts and uncles got us another set of car seats. And we received several diaper cakes, and along with diapers, the cakes had other things with them like baby soap, baby shampoo, bubble bath, baby laundry detergent, and stuff like that.

As the party was breaking up, we thanked everyone for everything. And as my Aunt Ginny and Aunt Ruth were leaving, Aunt Ruth said, “There’s something more for you at the resort.”

“Aunt Ruth!”, I said. “You’ve already done so much.”

“Honey, it’s nothing.”

“What is it, Aunt Ruth?”, Ajie asked.

“A crib.”

“A crib?”

“Yes, a crib. I know you said that the twins are going to sleep together in the same crib, so we only got one. And we’ll have it in the other spare bedroom.”

“No, put it in our room.”

“The babies aren’t going to sleep with you. Are they?”

“Yes, we’ve been told that it’s better for them.”

“We’ll see.”

Chief Tom reappeared and helped us load everything into the car. And it was a car full. As we headed home, I said, “I’d really like to go for a walk along the river.”

“That would be nice.”, Ajie said. “But it’ll be too late by the time we get there, and it is cold.”

“Maybe tomorrow after lunch.”

“We could do that.”

Back home, we unloaded the car and took everything into the spare bedroom that we were using to store things for the kids.