Tommy - The Trials and Tribulations of a Girl? - Chapter 189

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Tommy
The Trials and Tribulations of a Girl?

A Novel By Teddie S.

Copyright © 2019 Teddie S.
All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 189


Senator Tso and the Mayor?
A trip to the bank.
The Eagles and the Eaglets.
Aunt Ginny and Senator Tso.


The last half of this week started very well, and then on Sunday, it went downhill.

The antagonist in my one Computer Design class apologized to me. I’d also finished the printed circuit board for the project for Los Alamos, and we ran a twenty-four-hour test on it, and it was perfect.

On Saturday things went better than we thought they would, the hardest part was going to the feast for Mrs. Tl'izilani. But after that, we’d met with Sam Tl'izilani, his wife Jean, his sister Dezba Tzo, and her husband, State Senator Bisahalani “Hal” Tso. And what they wanted for the adobe house was something that we couldn’t turn down. So, we now own a house.

The Tl'izilanis’ were surprised to learn what my real name is and that I’m a boy.

Also, the Tl'izilanis’ accepted our offer of 100 shares of IBM stock for the furnishings that we wanted. And it made me feel better about what we paid for the house because we’d been told that the stock would split very soon.

Later we told Charlie and Jackie about grandma’s car that Uncle Paul had. So, on Sunday, we went up to the resort so that they could look at it. And while Uncle Paul and Charlie were out to test drive it, I decided to take my dad’s Corvette out for a ride. When I pulled the Corvette out of the garage, I noticed that the gas gauge was a little below half, so I drove over to the maintenance garage to fill it up.

As I was filling up the Corvette, I was accosted by some guy that tried to steal the car. And, you know how that ended up. Except that the guy landed a lucky punch that knocked me out, but I guess that I landed the final blow that put him on the ground.

I woke up on the couch in my aunt and uncle’s house with Ajie taking care of me. Francisco had carried me up here from the maintenance building. Amy wouldn’t let me drive, so Uncle Paul drove the Vet back to the house. And he found out that the small car had some guts, as he spun the tires. And, I guess that the guy who was trying to steal the Corvette found out that when I’m riled up that I’m a one-hundred-pound tiger.

And, Charlie did buy grandma’s car.

Sunday afternoon we said, hágoónee' - (see you later) to my aunt and uncle at about a quarter to four, and with Ajie driving, and we headed to Albuquerque. We followed Charlie and Jackie south down the Interstate. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time to stop and visit with the Eagles.

We were back at the apartment with plenty of time for me to get cleaned up and for us to be at Dr. Joe’s for dinner at seven. As we pulled into the driveway at the apartment, Charlie and Jackie pulled into their driveway. We got out of our cars and walked up to each other. And Charlie said, “Guys, thank you so much for taking us to the resort to look at the car.”

“You needed something like this, and we knew where that something was, so all we did was put the two of you together.”, I said.

We said so long to each other, and we headed into our apartment. As we walked in the door, Amy said, “You’d better go and get changed and cleaned up.”

I ran upstairs, and Amy followed me. As I took off my blouse with the torn sleeve, I said, “Well, that’s ruined.”

She looked at it, and said, “Maybe not. We’ll look at it later.”

I stripped and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. I didn’t wash my hair, as it takes a long time to dry since it’s long. Like down to my waist. When I got out of the shower, I was looking in the mirror, and I saw something. I yelled, “Honey, come here a minute.”

When Amy walked into the bathroom, she asked, “What’s up?”

I pointed to the side of my face, where the guy had hit me and said, “Look.”

“I was afraid of that. You’re going to have a bruise.”

“Oh, that’s going to look good. Not.”

“Come with me, and let's see if we can cover it.”

“Cover it with what?”

“Makeup.”

“I don’t wear makeup.”

“You’re going to now.”

We went to the bedroom, and Amy went to work. And a few minutes later, she said, “Take a look.”

I looked in the mirror and couldn’t see the bruise, but I could tell there was makeup there. She had covered my face with makeup so that it looked natural, and she had done an excellent job.

“Well?”, Amy asked.

“Looks good. Will it last all day?”

“It should. Just put what I used in your purse and you can touch it up if need be.”

We both dressed in nice but comfortable clothes. You know, long skirts, pretty blouses, moccasins, some silver jewelry, earrings, and simple headbands. Then we headed to Dr. Joe’s house.

We were at Dr. Joe’s house at a quarter to seven, and as we pulled into the driveway, there was another car there. I think it’s Chief Tom’s car, so that means that he and Vickie are also here.

Amy and I walked up to the door, and before I could ring the doorbell, the door opened. Dr. Joe was standing there, and he said, “There are the new homeowners!”

“And, yá’át’ééh alní'íní - (good evening) to you, Dr. Joe.”

“Come on in, you two.”

We followed Dr. Joe into the house, and to the kitchen, and there was Chief Tom, Vickie, and Mary. Vickie was helping Mary, Dr. Joe’s wife, cook, and Chief Tom was watching.

“You two look happy.”, Vickie said when she saw us.

“Yes, they do.”, Chief Tom said.

“I would say that we are.”, I said.

“So, when do you take possession?”

“I’m not sure. But, Monday afternoon, we need to go to Senator Tso’s office to get the paperwork to take to the bank. So, Dr. Joe, I won’t be in on Monday afternoon.”

“Senator Tso!”, Chief Tom said. “You know Senator Tso?”

“Yes. He’s part of the family that owns the house. He’s the husband of Dezba Tl'izilani.”

“You meet all the important people. He may be running for the U.S. Senate.”

“I guess it just happens. And I think I’d vote for him.”

I knew that Dr. Joe was thinking about saying something about hired help, so I said, “Dr. Joe, don’t go there with the hired help comment.”

“Kai.”, Dr. Joe said. “I understand. This is important. Besides, you’ve finished the project, and we need to figure out when we’re going to Los Alamos to give it to them.”

“I should know after we talk with Senator Tso and the bank on Monday.”

“Kind of exciting.”, Chief Tom said. “Isn’t it?”

“And, scary.”, I said.

“It is that. But, you have a good support group, and everything should be fine.”

“I can’t wait to see this house.”, Vickie said.

“Me either.”, Mary said. “You’ll need to have a house warming.”

“Maybe after we’ve settled in we might do that.”, Amy said. “But, that won’t stop us from having friends in for dinner.”

“I want to get the hogan built before we have a big party.”, I said.

“A hogan?”, Chief Tom said.

“Yes, kind of a fancy one. But, a hogan.”

“Following the ways of the ancestors?”

“Yes.”

We then had a nice dinner with Dr. Joe, Mary, Chief Tom, and Vickie. And as Amy and I were saying so long to them, I said, “Once we get the keys to the house we might give tours as we’re doing things before we move in. But, you’ll need to bring work clothes.”, I said.

“Work clothes!?”, Dr. Joe said.

“Sure. We’ll need help doing things.”

“We’ll help.”, Mary said. Then placing her hand on her pregnant belly, she added, “But, I don’t know how much help junior will be.”

“We’ll have places for those that need to rest. Besides, you’ll be in charge of drinks and snacks. That Kai and I will provide.”, Amy said.

“Oh. We get to eat.”, Chief Tom said.

Vickie said, “Tom, stop thinking with your stomach.”

We said, hágoónee' – (see you later) to everyone and headed to the apartment. As we walked into the apartment from the garage, I said, “Well, I guess I need to be the Tom me again tomorrow afternoon.”

“Isn’t it worth it?”, Amy asked.

“Yeah, it is worth it. More than worth it. We’ll have our own place.”

“That we will, love. That we will.”

As we were getting ready for bed, Amy was helping me take off the makeup that I had on to cover the bruise on my face from the fight. And, she said, “No one noticed your bruise.”

“I know. You did a good job.”

“Told you.”

“But, the makeup felt weird.”

“You normally don’t wear much makeup, lucky you, but you’ll get used to it. And it won’t take long for the bruise to go away.”

“How long?”

“Maybe two weeks.”

“Two weeks!”

“Yes, my love. It may not be that long, because I don’t think it’s that deep.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Now, the next question. How are you feeling?”

“Fine.”

“No headaches? No blurry vision? You're not sick to your stomach?”

“No. No. And, no.” Amy was in her nurse mode.

“I’ve watched your balance, and you seem fine.

“And, tonight at dinner you didn't show any signs of amnesia.”

“What dinner?”

“Stop being silly.”

“Sorry.”

“As long as you were kidding. Who did we have dinner with?”

“Dr. Joe, Mary, Chief Tom, and Vickie.”

“Okay. I think it’s safe to go to bed.”

“Yes, my Queen. I hear that the King is on a quest.”

Monday morning before we went to the university, Amy redid the makeup that hid my bruise. We both taught our classes and went to our grad level classes at eleven. So, we were able to walk to the apartment together.

When we were back at the apartment, we went upstairs and changed out of our teaching clothes, and Amy put on a long skirt, pretty blouse, moccasins, and some jewelry. Me? I changed into Tom’s clothes, white linen pants, ribbon shirt, and moccasins. I put my hair into a man’s braid. Added a Concho belt, and a few more pieces of silver. And, Ajie redid the makeup that was hiding the bruise.

Just before we left the apartment, I called our financial adviser, told him that we’d purchased the house and that we’d need some money wired to our bank in Albuquerque. He told us to consider it done.

Then at a little after one in the afternoon, we were parking the car in a downtown Albuquerque parking lot. We walked down the street towards the building where Senator Tso had his office. We walked into the building and took the main staircase
to the second floor, then we found the Senator’s office, and walked in.

A secretary looked up and asked, “How can I help you?”

“We’d like to see Senator Tso.”, I said.

“Is he expecting you?”

“Yes. Tell him that Amy and Tom Young are here.”

“Oh, yes. He mentioned that you’d be in. Just a minute.”

The secretary picked up the phone and dialed, then we heard her say, “Senator Tso, Amy and Tom Young are here. … Yes, sir. I’ll tell them.”

As the secretary hung up the phone, she said to us, “Please, have a seat. Senator Tso will be out in a few minutes.”

Amy and I sat and waited for about five minutes. Then a door opened, and Senator Tso walked out, we stood up, and the Senator said, “Tom, it’s a pleasure to meet you. And, Amy, it’s good to see you again. Come on into my office.”

As we walked towards the door, the Senator reached out his hand to me, and we shook hands. Then we walked into his office. Then he closed the door behind us, walked behind his desk, and as he sat, he said, “Please have a seat.”

Amy and I sat, then the Senator said, “Tom, this is a real surprise. I talked with Naainish a little bit about you, and he was right. You do make either a good look man or a good looking woman. It’s amazing.”

I just smiled.

Then the Senator said, “I have the necessary papers for you to give the bank for your loan, plus your copy of the sales agreement.”

“Thank you.”, I said.

“The family is delighted that you bought the house. Naainish also told me that you were looking for a house like this one, and I’m glad that we were able to work this out.”

“So were we Senator. This house is our dream house. Out of town, but no too far from the university. Close to the mountains and the desert. And, no light pollution from the city to hide the night sky. And no chance of anyone building behind us.”

“Well, Tom and Amy, you’ve found it. It’s what my in-laws wanted too. Except for being close to the university. They enjoyed being one with nature, and I know they spent many an evening relaxing in the rear courtyard and just looking into the heavens.”

“We’ll enjoy doing that too. And Amy has a knack of spotting shooting stars.”

“You’ll see a lot of them out there.”

“We imagine that we will.”

As the Senator stood, he picked up a file folder, and said, “Here’s all the paperwork. And let me know if there is anything else that I can do for you.”

As I took the folder and looked inside, I said, “We will. And, again thank you for everything.”

“You two are more than welcome. I wish we could talk more, but I’ve got an important meeting.”

Then the Senator walked us to the door of his office, and as he opened it, we saw five men in suits sitting in the reception area. I only knew who one of them was. It was the Mayor of Albuquerque. Amy, the Senator, and I shook hands and said so long.

As we walked out of the front door of the office, I heard the Senator say, “Gentlemen, come on in.”

And, I saw the Senator shake the Mayor’s hand like an old friend. I just hoped the Mayor didn’t recognize us.

As Amy and I were walking out of the building, Amy asked, “Was that the Mayor waiting with everyone else to see the Senator?”

“Yes.”, I said. “And I hope that he didn’t recognize us.”

“I doubt it. He met Kai and not Tom.”

“But he met you too.”

“Yeah, but you were the one that challenged him.”

“Yeah.”, I said. “And I still don’t like him. And, I hope that the Senator doesn’t have the same negative opinion of women like the Mayor does.”

“The Mayor does have a negative opinion of women in technical jobs. Doesn’t he?”

“Yes, he does. And I don’t see that changing. Maybe I won’t vote for Senator Tso if he runs for the U.S. Senate.”

“I think we need to find out his feelings.”, Amy said. “Maybe he’s meeting with the Mayor about something that he has no choice in.”

“Could be.”

We drove to the main office of our bank, parked the car, and walked into the building. We asked to see either Mrs. Tillman or Mr. Edwards. The woman we were talking to dialed a number, and said, “Mrs. Tillman there is a Mr. and Mrs. Young here to see you or Mr. Edwards.” … “I’ll tell them.”

The woman looked at us and said, “Have a seat. Mrs. Tillman will be right out.”

I thanked her, and we walked over to some chairs and sat. A few minutes later, Mrs. Tillman walked to where we were seated and greeted us. Then we followed her back to her office.

As we sat, I handed the paperwork to Mrs. Tillman and said, “This should be the paperwork that you need for the loan.”

Mrs. Tillman took the paperwork, sat at her desk, looked over the papers, and said, “Yes. This appears to be what we need to finish the loan. Mr. Edwards will be right here.”

And, as she said that, there was a knock on the door, and Mr. Edwards walked in, and we exchanged greetings. Then he said, “By you being here, I take it that you purchased the house?”

“Yes.”, I replied. “Mrs. Tillman has the paperwork.”

Mrs. Tillman handed Mr. Edwards the paperwork, and as he looked at it, he shook his head. I asked, “Is there a problem, Mr. Edwards?”

“No. Just looking at what you paid for the property, and who witnessed the transaction.”

“We were surprised as to what they asked for the house. And we couldn’t say no to it. And Chief Clah is a friend, and Senator Tso is a member of the Tl'izilani family, he’s married to Dezba Tl'izilani.”

“So, what are you going to need in the way of a loan?”

“Take the price and divide it by two.”

“And, you’re paying the other half as the down payment?”

“Yes, and we’ve already given them twenty thousand.”

“You do know how to handle your money.”

“I hope so, and it helps to have a good advisor.”

Mr. Edwards did the math, wrote the amount on the final application, and gave it to me to sign. I signed it, then Amy signed it, and gave it back to Mr. Edwards.

“So we’ll have a check for you on Friday, and we’ll have it made out to, … ” Mr. Edwards looked at the paperwork and finished saying, “Made out to, Sani Tl'izilani and Dezba Tso.”

“Yes, and we’ll also be picking up a certified check on Friday for the remainder of the down payment.”

“That sounds good, Mr. Young. I’m glad that we could do business. We’ll have the title to the property here at the bank. And, when the loan is paid off, you will receive a clear title.”

“That sounds good, Mr. Edwards. And, I want to thank you and Mrs. Tillman for all of your help.”

“And I want to thank you for doing business with the bank.”

Mr. Edwards made copies of the paperwork and handed the originals back to us. And we said, so long.

As we drove back to the apartment, Amy said, “Honey, something’s bothering you. Care to tell.”

“I’m worried about the relationship between Senator Tso and the Mayor.”, I said. “Senator Tso knows too much about me. Us.”

“Then, we need to find out more about their relationship.”

“But, from who?”

“Maybe your Aunt Ginny. Working for the Navajo Council, she may have contacts.”

“Good idea. I’ll call her tonight.

“Let's take a ride?”

“Okay. Where to?”, Amy asked.

“Let’s go visit the Eagles.”, I said.

“Okay. But don’t you think you should change first?”

“Why?”

“The Eagles may not recognizance Tom.”

“You think they wouldn’t?”

“No, not really. But, I figured that you’d want out of Tom’s clothes and back into your own.”

I thought, ‘Hmm. Tom’s clothes aren’t mine? Maybe they aren’t anymore. It does feel weird to wear them.’

“Honey. The light’s green.”, Amy said.

“Oh, yeah.”, I said. I looked to be sure it was green, and it was, and we drove on.

“Honey, what were you thinking about?”

“What you said.”, I said.

“What I said?”

“Yeah, about wanting out of Tom’s clothes and into my own.”

“Oh?”

“Isn’t Tom here anymore?”

“I don’t know. You’re the only one that knows that.”

“You’re right. And I’m not sure myself.”

“I do know that he’s here at times.”

I glanced at Amy and smiled. Then I said, “I guess he’s here when he needs to be.”

“So he is still around.”

“Yeah. I guess he is.”

“And, I guess the spirits think that it’s more important that Kai is here right now.”

“You’re probably right.”

We did stop by the apartment, and I put Tom away and was now back to being Kai. And, you know, I feel better. Then we headed up to the reservoir where the Eagle’s nest is. We parked and started down the trail. When we reached the gate on the side trail, the gate had a lock and a sign on it. And that sign said, Danger. Absolutely no admittance. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.’

I looked at Ajie and said, “I wonder what’s going on?”

“I don’t know.”, she said. “But, I think we need to find Iz.”

We walked back to the car and headed to where the Santa Ana Pueblo Government Offices were. When we pulled in, luckily Iz’s truck was parked just outside. Iz is the whole parks department for the Santa Ana Pueblo.

We walked into the offices, and Iz and his wife Nita, who is the Tribal Governor for the Pueblo, were there. Iz saw us and said, “Thank the Great Spirit that you're here.”

I said, “Hello, Nita and Iz. Iz, we saw the gate and sign. What going on?”

“The stupid people from the Fish and Wildlife Service showed up and were going to try and band the Eaglets.”

“Are the Eaglets okay?”

“Yes, and that’s more than can be said for one of the guys from the Fish and Wildlife Service.”

“What happened?”, I asked.

“They were climbing the tree, that the nest is on, and trying to figure out how to get on the nest.”, Iz said. “But they didn’t get very far. The two Eagles went after them. Have you ever been hit by a fourteen pound Eagle in a dive with their talons out.”

“No! And I don’t think that I want to be.”

“You don’t, but one of the guys from the Fish and Wildlife Service found out what it was like. And, he was lucky that he was tied into the tree or he’d fallen forty feet. When the Eagle hit him, it tore his back open. And, he ended up in the hospital.”

“Why the sign and lock?”

“The Fish and Wildlife people felt that they needed to keep people out of there.”

“People that are trying to do something to the Eagles, yes.”, I said.

“So, that McMasters guy from Fish and Wildlife didn’t tell us the truth.”, Ajie said.

“Apparently not.”, I said. “And it serves them right for trying to get to the Eaglets.”

Then I said, “Iz, Ajie and I want to visit the Eagles.”

“I’ll go with you.”, Iz said. “The Pueblo Police have been told to arrest anyone found there.”

“That sure messes things up.”

“We’ll get it straightened out as soon as things settle down. Just stop and find me when you want to visit.”

“We can do that.”

We said so long to Nita, and we followed Iz back to the reservoir, and then walked with him to the gate. As he unlocked the gate, Iz said, “They only gave me one key. But, I’ll see what I can do to get you one.”

“That would be great.”, I said. “And tell the police that we’re okay.”

We finished our hike to the best place to see the Eagle’s nest and stood there looking at the nest. But, we didn't see any Eagles.

After we’d been there for about five minutes, we saw an Eagle fly in with a big fish in its talons and land in the nest. It took another minute until one of the Eagles came to the edge of the nest and looked at us. Eagles, in general, look like their mad, but the look we were seeing was an intense one.

Finally, the Eagle tilted his head a little, and it appeared that his look changed. I don’t think that that’s possible. But, it was like he recognized us. And he squawked.

It wasn’t long until the other Eagle came over. Then we saw two small fuzzy heads look over the edge of the nest. Ajie almost squealed when she said, “There’s the Eaglets.”

The three of us were excited about seeing the Eaglets. The Eaglets stayed for less than a minute. Then they went deeper into the nest. And they were followed by one of the Eagles. The other Eagle stayed with us for a short time, then took off, circled a couple of times, and flew off.

I looked at Iz, and said, “Iz, that was amazing seeing the two Eaglets.”

“It was Kai. It’s a once in a lifetime thing.”, Iz said.

“We’re going to try to make it up once a week to see them, and we’ll find you to come with us. But, we’ve just purchased a house and will be moving sometime in the next few weeks, and that may interfere with coming up here.”

“We’ll see you when we see you, and hope it isn’t too long.”

“It won’t be.”

We walked back to the parking lot, said hágoónee' – (see you later) to Iz, and then we headed back to Albuquerque. Both Ajie and I were on a high after seeing the Eaglets.

When we were back at the apartment, we went next door and told Charlie and Jackie about seeing the Eaglets. They were even excited. And we promised to take them with us the next time we went to see them.

Tuesday morning it was back to classes. Then I stopped to see Dr. Joe, and as I walked into his office, he looked at me, and asked, “What happened to you?”

“What do you mean?”, I asked.

“The side of your face is swollen.”

“It is!”, I said, faking surprise.

“Yes, it is.”

“Well. … I had a problem at the resort.”

“Going to tell?”

“I guess. I was going to take the Corvette for a ride, … ” And I went on to tell Dr. Joe the story of what happened at the resort.

When I finished, Dr. Joe, shook his head, deeply sighed, and said, “Kai, please be careful. I don’t need to break in a new research partner.”

“Dr. Joe!”

“And, more important, I don’t want to lose a good friend.”

I looked at him, smiled, and said, “Dr. Joe. Believe me. I don’t go looking for these things.”

“I know you don’t, Kai.”

“So, when are we going to take the project to Los Alamos?”

“How about Thursday afternoon?”

“That works.”

“Good, we have an appointment with Dr. Fontheim at one.”

“That works.”, I said.

“So, when are you getting the keys?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Getting the keys?”, I asked.

“Yes, the keys to the house.”

“Oh, those keys. I need to call Sam Tl'izilani today and see when we can get together.”

Pointing at the phone as he stood, Dr. Joe said, “There’s the phone. And I’ll let you have the desk.”

Dr. Joe took his cup of coffee, walked over to the work table, and sat. I sat behind Dr. Joe’s desk, took my wallet out of my purse, and found Sam’s card. I figured that he might be at work, so I called the Bernalilo County Sheriff’s Department, and when the phone was answered, I asked, “Is Captain Tl'izilani in?” … “Yes, tell him that’s it’s Kai Nez.” … “I’ll hold.”

Within a minute, Sam answered the phone and said, “Hello, Kai.”

“Hi, Sam.”, I said. “I think that everything is a go. We’ll have the checks from the bank on Friday.”

“That’s good. When would you like to get together.”

“Any time after Noon on Friday.”

“Want to do Saturday morning at the house, and Dezba and I can walk you and Ajie through it?”

“That sounds good. Say at ten?”

“That sounds good, Kai. See you Saturday morning.”

“Hágoónee', - (see you later), Sam.”

As I hung up the phone, Dr. Joe said, “Captain Tl'izilani?”

“He’s with the Bernalilo County Sheriff’s Department.”

“Oh. So, Saturday’s the big day?”

“Yep. Let me try to get a hold of Amy and tell her. She’s working in the ER today until four and I don’t want her to schedule anything for Saturday.”

I picked up the phone and called the hospital’s main switchboard and asked for the emergency room’s nurse’s desk. When someone in the ER answered, I asked for Amy and told them that I was Kai.

Shortly Amy answered, “Hi, Kai.”

“Hi, love.”, I said. “I just talked to Sam Tl'izilani, and we’re meeting him and Dezba at the house at ten on Saturday morning.”

“So, it’s almost ours?”

“Yes, they’re going to walk us through the house and show us everything that we need to know. Then we’ll give them the checks, and they’ll give us the keys.”

“I’m excited.”

“Me too.”, I said.

“Still nervous about this?”, Amy asked.

“You know it. Oh, Dr. Joe and I have a meeting at Los Alamos on Thursday afternoon.”

“Okay. I’m not working on Thursday. So, I’ll figure out something for dinner.”

“Okay. And, I need to talk to student housing too.”

“Just do that when you have a free minute.”, Amy replied. “They won’t be able to fill the apartment for the rest of this school year.”

“True.”, I said. “I’ll see you at four. Ayóó'áníínísh'ní, hágoónee'. - (I love you, see you later.)”

“Ayóó aníínísh’ní aldó’. - (I love you too.) Hágoónee'. - (See you later.)”

As I hung up the phone, I said to Dr. Joe, “Let’s look and be sure that we have everything that we need to take back to Los Alamos.”

“I found us a good anti-static envelope for the circuit board.”, Dr. Joe said. “It’s there on my desk.”

I picked up the envelope and walked over to the file cabinet. I unlocked and opened the cabinet. Then I took out the circuit board, slipped it out of the envelope that we’d had it in, and slipped it into the new envelope, sealed it, and set it on Dr. Joe’s desk.

Then I took all the paperwork out of the file cabinet and set it on Dr. Joe’s desk. And we went through it determining what we needed to return to Los Alamos, and what needed to be destroyed. Then we put everything back in the file cabinet and locked it.

Dr. Joe then said, “Let’s get some lunch. My treat.”

“It would take too long to go to Taos.”, I said.

“Yeah. Besides, I have a meeting this afternoon.”

“Okay. Where do you want to go?”

“Nunzio's?”

“That would work.”

Later, when Amy and I were back at the apartment and had dinner, I called my Aunt Ginny. When she answered, I said, “Hi, Aunt Ginny. It’s Kai.”

“Hi, honey.”, Aunt Ginny said. “Did you get moved?”

“No, we won’t have the keys until Saturday. And we probably won’t move for a week or two after that.”

“Just be sure that we know when you move.”

“Oh, we will.”

“Did you want to talk to your Uncle Gaagii?”

“No, I wanted to talk to you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, how much do you know about Senator Tso?”

“Not much. What do you want to know?”

“What his connection is to Mayor Alejandro Rodrìguez?”

“The Mayor of Albuquerque?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know much other than they are members of the same political party. Why?”

“We met the Mayor at a dinner party, and I didn’t like him. And then he talked down about women in technical positions. He was concerned that we gave the first scholarship to a girl who wants to be a doctor.

“In his opinion, women can’t do technical things.”

“I see. And if I know you, you didn’t take his stuff lying down.”

“No, I didn’t. The university’s president, Dr. Lingham, was standing with us, and even he got nervous as I talked with the Mayor.”

“Knowing you, Kai. I can understand Dr. Lingham getting nervous.”

“What I’m interested in finding out, since I didn’t get a bad feeling from Senator Tso is, does the Senator share the Mayor’s feelings about women? I could back Bisahalani Tso if he’s running for the U.S. Senate, but not if he has the same feelings as Mayor Rodrìguez.”

“I see your point, Kai. I don’t think that I could back him either if he felt that way.”

“Think you can find out anything?”

“I’ll try. Give me a few days, and I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks, Aunt Ginny.”

“No problem Kai. It would be good to know.”

“Yes, it will. Hágoónee', Aunt Ginny.”

“Hágoónee', Kai. Say hello to Ajie for me.”

“I will. Hágoónee'.”

As I hung up the phone, Amy asked, “Did Aunt Ginny know anything about Senator Tso and the Mayor?”

“Nothing other than they are members of the same political party. But she is going to do some digging.”

“If there’s something to find you’re Aunt Ginny will find it.”

~o~O~o~

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Comments

Trials and tribulations

Thank you for a new chapter on the events in Kai's life. When I was young you didn't see eagles in our area. It was a thrill when they developed enough of a presence to be seen on occasion. That flash of white on the head and tail catches your attention.

Time is the longest distance to your destination.

Hi Siteseer,

Hi Siteseer,

The same here. When I was growing I don't remember seeing Eagles. But now within a 5-mile circle, I can show you a half a dozen active nests.

The Senator

My5InchFMHeels's picture

Since Kai doesn't feel anything negative coming from the Senator, hopefully what Aunt Ginny finds is all good. It'd definitely open up new doors for Kai in the future, especially since Kai is like a magnet for conflict.

The Mayor

I suspect that now Auntie is digging into the Mayor"s background and activities it will not be too long before he is outed to the Senator as a user of other people in furtherance of his own agenda.

Brit

She's not looking into the

She's not looking into the Mayor, but the Senator. And, who knows what's on the Mayor's addenda.

I wouldn't say that she's a

I wouldn't say that she's a magnet for conflict. She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, then again, maybe she's in the right place at the right time. She has stopped a number of wrongs from happening. Even if they were to her.

The House.

So, no more walking Ajie to work. They will need to use two cars? That's sad. Still, they have their own house. :)

Nice Episode.

Gwen

Ah, but they don't have that

Ah, but they don't have that 2nd car yet. And I don't think either of them want to drive the '57 Chevy to the university.

It is much better to vote for the person,

and not for their political party. Not always possible, as a lot of politicians are very accomplished liars, it can take time to know how good or bad they really are.

Amen to that Wendy Jean.

Amen to that Wendy Jean. That's exactly how I vote. I vote for the person.

I find

I vote against a person about as often as for someone.

That's true,

That's true,

Politics

smdani4mm's picture

interesting handling of the politics issues. I guess you have handled tribal politics, but I didnt really think about it as politics. Probably should have.

Dani

SmDani4

Aww...poor baby

Jamie Lee's picture

First time owning a home can be daunting, mostly because of how much money is involved. But once over the sticker shock, it a great feeling to know the house is yours, relatively speaking.

That moron trying to get to the eagle nest got what he deserved. Having two babies, the eagles will be even more protective of anything or anyone trying to get to the nest. Besides, why did those morons think the eagles would sit still and let themselves get banded. And why is there a belief that every wild bird needs banded in the first place? Believing more research is needed doesn't trump the birds need to be left alone.

Wonder if Joe and Kai will be told what will be done with the circuit board? Since it was after the fact they learned how the last board was used, might it be the same with this new board?

Others have feelings too.