Amy had to work in the ER until nine on Tuesday night. So, I spent that time in Dr. Joe’s office reading the information on the project for Los Alamos. I know, it sounds boring and would be if you weren’t working on the project and loved electronics as much as I do. Amy and I were able to have dinner together in the hospital cafeteria. It wasn’t the best food in the world, but it wasn’t bad.

Wednesday had been May Day, and a university holiday, and we had Charlie and Jackie up to the house. Charlie and I had gotten started on the garage door openers, and what Amy and Jackie did only the Great Spirit knows. We’d also made a trip to Taos to purchase the rugs that we wanted for the house. There was also a stop to see Mr. Yazzie and see if he could make us hangers for the wall hangings. And for dinner, a stop at Doc Martin’s Restaurant was called for. Then Charlie and Jackie became our first overnight house guests as they spent Wednesday night with us.

Thursday morning, Amy and Jackie put together a good breakfast for the four of us. Then Charlie and Jackie followed me to the university. I waved to them as they turned off to go to their apartment, and I went to a faculty parking lot.

I taught my two classes and then went to Dr. Joe’s office. As I walked in, Dr. Joe said, “For God's sake, call Amy. She’s called here a half dozen times.”

“What’s wrong?”, I asked.

“She said something about a fire.”

“A fire! Where?”

“Here on campus someplace.”

“Thank the Great Spirit. I thought it was at the house. But why is she upset about it?”

“I don’t know.”, Dr. Joe said. “Call her.”

I grabbed Dr. Joe’s phone and call Amy. I don’t even think the phone rang once before Amy answered it. And, I said, “Honey, what’s going on?” … “No!” … “You’re kidding me.” … “Okay, I’ll run over there and see if I can find them.” … “I’ll call you as soon as I find out anything.” … “Love you too. So long.”

And I hung up the phone. Dr. Joe asked, “So, what’s going on.”

“Charlie and Jackie spent yesterday and last night with us.”, I said. “And, I guess that there was a fire in the apartment unit where they live, and we’d lived. And they called Amy. I’ve got to find out what happened.”

“Go. And let me know what’s happening.”

“Are you sure?”

“Are you going to be able to concentrate on anything until you find out?”

“Probably not.”

“Just go.”

“Thanks, Dr. Joe. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

I all but ran to where our apartment was. When I got there, there was still a fire truck, a fire chief’s car, and two university police cars there. I saw Charlie’s car, so I looked around for them. I finally found them. They were watching the firemen work on the unit that was behind there’s. Remember that there are four two-story units in each of the buildings and ten buildings making up the married student apartment complex.

I walked up behind Charlie and Jackie and said, “Hi, what happened?”

Charlie and Jackie both turned around and looked at me. And Jackie said, “Oh, Kai. Thank God you're here.”

Charlie then said, “There was a fire in Tim and Rachel’s apartment, and they took them to the hospital. I guess their apartment is badly damaged. And the firemen told us that because of the adobe walls between each apartment that the fire didn’t spread, but our apartment has heavy smoke damage.”

“Oh no.”, I said. “How are Tim and Rachel?”

“We haven’t heard. I heard one of the firemen say something about smoke inhalation.”

“How about your stuff?”

“They won’t let us in yet.”

“Any idea of how it started?”

Charlie replied, “I heard someone say something about it starting in the kitchen.”

“Okay.”, I said. “I’m going to go and call Amy and tell her what’s going on. She’s really worried.”

“Kai.”, Jackie said. “I’ll go with you.”

Jackie and I walked towards the drug store. There was a payphone on the outside of the store. We got there, I called the house, and Amy quickly answered the phone. I filled her in on what I knew, including Tim and Rachel being taken to the hospital. Amy said that she’d check on Tim and Rachel. Then I told her that Jackie was with me, and Amy said that she wanted to talk to her.

As I handed the receiver to Jackie, I said, “Amy wants to talk to you.”

Jackie took the receiver and said, “Hi, Amy.” … “Yes, it was a shock.” … “There’s supposed to be a lot of smoke damage.” … “We don’t know. We haven’t been able to get into our place yet.” … “No, Amy, we can’t do that.” … Handing me the receiver, Jackie said, “Kai, Amy wants to talk to you.”

“Hi, honey.”, I said.

Amy said, “I told Jackie that they could stay with us until the university found them someplace to stay for the rest of the quarter. And she said that they couldn’t do that.”

As I looked at Jackie, I said to Amy, “Honey, let me talk to them. And I’ll let you know what’s happening. Ayóó'áníínísh'ní, hágoónee'. (I love you, see you later.)”

As I hung up the phone, I looked at Jackie and said, “Jackie, you and Charlie are going to need someplace to stay for a short time until the university comes up with something more permanent. So, please stay with us.”

“Kai.”, Jackie said. “We’ve already imposed on you too much.”

“You have never imposed on us. We enjoy your company.”

“I don’t know.”

“Jackie, you need friends right now. Please let us help you.”

“I’ll talk to Charlie, but I know that he’ll say no.”

“We’ll see.”

We walked back over to the apartments. And as we walked up to the apartments, we saw Charlie with two guys in suits and what appeared to be an officer from the fire department. I recognized one of the suits. It was Dr. Lingham, the President of the university.

Jackie and I walked up to the small group of men, and I said, “Hello, Dr. Lingham.”

Dr. Lingham turned, looked at me, and said, “Hello, Miss Nez. What are you doing here?”

“This is the unit that we used to live in. And Charlie and Jackie Hamilton are friends, and they still live here.”

“I see. Miss Nez, this is Chief Downy of the Albuquerque Fire Department and Mr. McLaughlin head of Student Housing. Gentlemen, this is Miss Kai Nez. She is an instructor in electrical engineering.”

We exchanged greetings. Then I said, “Do you have a place for Charlie and Jackie to live for the remainder of the quarter?”

“We were just talking about that, Miss Nez.”, Mr. McLaughlin said.

“And?”

“Right now, we only have a couple of openings in the men’s dorm and the woman’s dorm.”

“So, they’d be split up for how long? The rest of the quarter.”

“Possibly.”

“How about the couple that lived in the apartment where the fire was?”

I saw the three men look at each other. Then I said, “What?”

“The girl didn’t make it.”, the Fire Chief said.

I heard Jackie gasp. I looked at Jackie, and Charlie was holding her. Then I asked, “What about the boy?”

“He’s in critical condition.”

“Chief Downy, would a smoke detector have saved Rachel’s life?”

“Yes, Miss Nez I think it would have.”

I looked at Dr. Lingham, and said, “Dr. Lingham, I know that there’s some kind of fire detection system in the dorms. But, what’s it going to take to have smoke detectors installed in the married student apartments?”

Dr. Lingham looked at Mr. McLaughlin from Student Housing and said, “Mr. McLaughlin, I’ll defer that question to you.”

I saw Mr. McLaughlin give Dr. Lingham a look, then he said, “Miss Nez. It’s really none of your business. But, it would run somewhere close to eight-hundred dollars for each unit of four apartments.”

When Mr. McLaughlin had said, ‘it’s really none of your business,’ I saw Dr. Lingham eyes get big. And I got mad.

I thought, ‘Sir, you are an ass.’ Then I said, “Excuse me! But did you say that it’s none of my business?”

“Is it?”

I looked at Dr. Lingham and Mr. McLaughlin, and said, “Dr. Lingham, this may cost me my job at the university, but I’m now on a mission to have those smoke detectors installed. And, you, Mr. McLaughlin, are an ass. It appears that the dollar is more important than the life of a student who you are supposed to care about.

“To me, life is very precious. I’ve witnessed too many deaths. And if one death can be prevented, the cost isn’t important. I will do everything in my power to see that no one else at this university has to die the way Rachel died.

“If this had happened a couple of weeks ago, my cousin and I would have been in our apartment. And maybe we’d be in the hospital right now or worse.

“So yes, it’s my business!”

Dr. Lingham said, “Mr. McLaughlin, I’d like you to work up the actual cost of installing smoke detectors in all ten married student units, and have it on my desk by Monday morning.”

Mr. McLaughlin glared at me and said, “Yes, sir.”

“Now.”, I said. “What about housing for Jackie and Charlie?”

“Miss Nez.”, Dr. Lingham said. “Right now, I don’t know. There were only two empty married student apartments, and both of them were in this unit. We won’t know until the university architect, and the city’s building department have a look at this building to see if it’s still livable. And then, if it is, it would need to be cleaned. If not, it would have to be torn down.”

“So, there’s no place for them to stay?”

“I guess we could put them up in one of the local motels for a while.”

I looked at Charlie and Jackie, and they didn’t look happy about that. So, I said, “Charlie and Jackie, you are staying with Amy and me until the university finds you someplace better than a motel room. No argument.”

Charlie was going to say something, but I said, “Charlie, no argument.”

“Okay, Kai.”, Charlie said. “No argument.”

Then Jackie asked, “What about our things?”

“Miss.”, the Fire Chief said. “I think that’s it’s safe for you to go into your unit. You’ll find that there’s a lot of smoke damage. Some of it can be washed out. It may take multiple washings, but it will eventually be washed out. Somethings will just need to be washed off. Things like furniture may never lose the smell.

“I’ll have one of the firemen go in with you just to be sure that everything is safe.”

“Guys.”, I said. “Go in and start getting everything together. I’m going to Dr. Joe’s office, call Amy, run home, change, and come back with Amy and boxes, and we’ll help you.”

“Kai, you don’t have to do that.”, Charlie said.

I looked at him, and just said, “Friends help friends.”

I then headed back to Dr. Joe’s office. When I got there, Dr. Joe looked at me and said, “Well?”

As I picked up his phone, I said, “Listen to what I tell Amy.”

I dialed the house, and when Amy answered, I said, “Hi Honey.” … “It’s not good. The fire started in Tim and Rachel’s apartment. And Rachel didn’t make it, and Tim is critical.” … “I figured that you’d know that. There’s a lot of smoke damage to the other units, and they don’t know if the building is structurally sound.” … “Yes, they’re staying with us. The university doesn’t have anywhere to put them other than a motel. I’ll be home in twenty minutes and change. Then we’re coming back here and help Charlie and Jackie. So, gather up all the boxes that you can find.

“And Dr. Lingham was there along with the head of student housing and the fire chief. And I got into it with them over smoke detectors or the lack of them in the married student apartments. It may cost me my teaching position, but Dr. Lingham knows that I’m on a mission.” … “Yes, to have smoke detectors put in those apartments before anyone else has to die unnecessarily.” … “The guy from the housing office was more worried by the bottom line. It made me mad, and I told him so.” … “Okay. I’ll see you in twenty. Hágoónee'.”

As I hung up the phone, I looked at Dr. Joe. And he said, “So, one of the students died?”

“Yeah.”, I said. “The girl. And the guy isn’t doing too good. Amy said that it’s touch and go with him.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Me too.”

“So, the administration is going to feel the wrath of Miss Nez again?”

“And it might be that the guy from student housing is going to feel the wrath of Dr. Lingham.”

“I’d rather feel his wrath than yours.”

I smiled. Then I said, “I’m heading home.” As I was walking out of Dr. Joe’s office, I almost ran into Dean Rutherford. And he said, “Slow down Miss Nez. Where’s the fire?”

“Dean.”, I said. “You don’t know how close you are to the truth. Ask Dr. Oshie. I’ve got to run.

As I left the university, I made a stop at the hardware store. When I got home, I carried a bag into the house, quickly changed into the closest thing I have to work clothes. Amy and I put the boxes into the car and headed back to the apartment. On the way, we talked, about what had happened between the university’s administration and me. Then I said, “I really feel sorry for Tim. He'll be waking up and finding that Rachel died.”

Amy was quiet and looked sad. So I said, “Don’t tell me.”

“Tim didn’t make it either.”, Amy whispered.

“Oh, Great Spirit, no!”

“I’m sorry honey.”

“I’m going to let you tell Jackie. She and Charlie knew Tim and Rachel better than we did.”

“I will.”

As we drove up to the apartment, there was a car from the New Mexico State Fire Marshall’s office parked in front of the apartment. We parked in our old driveway and walked over to Charlie and Jackie’s apartment. The front door was open, and the odor of smoke was strong.

We walked in, and I called out, “Hello.”

“We’re upstairs.”, I heard Charlie say. “We’ll be right down.”

A minute later Charlie and Jackie walked downstairs carrying clothes. And I asked, “So, how bad is it?”

“It’s not good.”, Charlie replied. “All of our clothes smell like smoke. The mattress is going to have to be thrown out. It’s just a mess.”

The four of us worked for about an hour and a half salvaging what we could. Charlie and Jackie's school books were okay, except that they smelled like smoke. We also cleaned out the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets, and the smoke hadn't damaged most of that. I’d watched as Jackie pick up the piece of pottery that Amy had given her with the Yei spirits on it. She carefully cleaned it and wrapped it in a towel, then placed it carefully in a box.

After we’d loaded everything in the cars, Amy said, “Let’s stop by the grocery store. I think I saw something there that will help get the smoke odor out of your clothes.”

When we were back at the house, we unloaded both cars into the garage. Then Charlie and Jackie could sort things, and start washing their clothes. Amy and I had to run back into town to pick up her car, so we left Charlie and Jackie to their work with a promise that we’d bring back dinner.

On the way to the Chevrolet dealer, we made one stop. And that was at Nunzio's Pizza to order everyone's favorite pizzas. Then it was to the car dealer, our salesman was waiting for us, and we finished the deal. Then Amy headed home in her new car, and I made a stop.

When I was back at the house, I carried my treasures into the house and set it on the dining room table. Then I grabbed four plates and four glasses. I then went and found Amy, Charlie, and Jackie in the laundry room. As I walked in, I said, “Dinner is served.”

They looked at me, and Amy asked, “What has the chef concocted for us?”

“Two Nunzio's pizzas, a side of anchovies, wine, and pop.”

We sat at the table, ate and talked. Then Jackie asked, “Kai, why did you insist that we stayed here last night.”

“I didn’t insist.”, I said. “I just thought it would be fun to have you as our first house guests. And it was.”

“While we were washing clothes, I realized that if we’d been at the apartment last night that we might not be here now.”

I just looked at her. Then I said, “It’s been a tough day. Let’s finish the wash, then take showers, and spend the evening relaxing on the courtyard.”

“Sitting out there is almost as relaxing as the thermal pools.”, Jackie said.

“I know., Jackie said. “That’s why we wanted a house with a fire pit.”

After we’d cleaned up the dinner dishes and put the extra pizza in the refrigerator, we worked on the rest of Charlie’s and Jackie’s laundry. Plus we cleaned some other things. Then we went and showered. Amy and I were done first because we showered together, but no hanky panky tonight.

We were out in the courtyard before Charlie and Jackie, so I laid a nice fire and lit it. They joined us, and Jackie said, “I just put the last load in the dryer.”

“At least your clothes weren’t ruined.”, Amy said.

We sat there quietly for a little while, I felt the spirits of the fire, and I started a quiet chant. When I finished, Jackie said, “Kai, that was nice. What was it?”

“I just said a prayer for Tim and Rachel.”, I said.

I looked at Amy, and she said, “Jackie, there’s no good way to tell you this. … But Tim didn’t make it.”

“Tim … Tim is dead too?”, Jackie asked.

“Yes, honey.”

“Oh, God, no!”

“Honey, I’m so sorry.”

Charlie held Jackie as she cried. I got up, walked over to them, sat next to Jackie, and took her hand in mine, and just held it. I saw Amy look at me with a little smile.

I sat there for a few minutes, just holding Jackie’s hand. I could feel her slowly calm down. She eventually looked at me and asked, “Kai, what did you do?”

“Nothing.”, I replied.

“Yes, you did. After you took my hand, I began to feel better.”

“Maybe I did do something. Or the spirits did.”

“But, I’m not an Indian.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Is this what you do to help people accept someone's death.”

“I guess.”

“Jackie.”, Amy said. “Kai is good at helping people accept things.”

“Yes, she is.”, Jackie said. “It still hurts, but I see that they are at rest.”

“Do you know where they’re from?”

“Yes, somewhere in Arizona. I think they said Tucson. And you know, I’d like to go to the funerals.”

“I think it’s a long drive.”, I said. “It’s not a one day round trip unless you fly.”

To change the subject, I asked, “Charlie, can we get the cars in the garage?”

“I think so if we move a few boxes.”, Charlie said.

“Do you want to put your car inside? I can pull the ‘57 further into the bay.”

“No, it’ll be fine outside. I’ll just lock it up.”

“Okay.”

Charlie and I went out front, and I put my car and Amy’s car in the garage, and Charlie locked his up. Then we went back inside, and as we walked up to the courtyard, we saw Amy and Jackie sitting together and having what looked like a serious talk. So, I told Charlie that I’d purchased two smoke detectors earlier today, and we decided to leave the girls alone and install them.

We hauled the stepladder in from the garage along with the tools that we’d need. We installed the first one just outside the master suite’s door. Charlie did the climbing and installed the smoke detector. And when we tested it, Amy and Jackie came running to see what was going on.

“When did you get that?”, Amy asked.

“Right after I called you from Dr. Joe’s office.”, I replied. “I was so mad at the university administration that I just had to get these for us. I’ve got another one for outside the hallway by the three bedrooms.”

“Going to put that one up tonight?”

“It doesn’t do any good in the box.”

As Charlie was up on the ladder installing the smoke detector outside the three bedrooms, he asked, “Kai, I couldn’t believe you when you were talking to Dr. Lingham and the guy from student housing.”

“Charlie.”, I said. “It made me mad when the guy from student housing put the importance of a dollar in front of the value of human life. And I needed to get my point across.”

“I could tell. And I think that you had Dr. Lingham upset too.”

“I hope that he was upset with the guy from housing and not me.”

“I got a feeling that he was on your side.”

“Good.”

Later as Amy and I were cuddling in bed, Amy asked, “Honey, did you ever have a feeling that something bad was going to happen at the apartment?”

“No.”, I replied. “I never felt anything even while we were living there. If I had had an inkling that there was a problem, I would have warned everyone. I liked Tim and Rachel even though we didn’t know them that well. I would have warned anyone that was in danger like that. I don’t like seeing anyone die.”

“I know honey. I just had to ask.”

“I understand. I wondered myself if I missed something, but I didn’t. When I heard about Tim and Rachel's death, I felt my spirits become very sad.

“Was I happy that Charlie and Jackie were staying with us that night. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. If they’d been at the apartment, they might have died too.”

“I know love. I felt the same way.”

To change the subject, I said, “You and Jackie were sure in a deep conversation tonight.”

“It was girl talk.”

“Ah. Who am I?”

With a cute smile, Amy said, “I know.

“And I loved how you helped Jackie. She was having a real problem with Tim and Rachel’s deaths.”

“I felt her trouble and just had to do something to help her.”, I said. “And I’m glad that I was able to do it.”

“I know. That’s what Jackie and I were talking about.”

That night I had a dream about the Indian girl sitting under the pine tree. The wolf was lying next to her with its head resting in her lap, and she was petting it. The Eagle was standing next to her, looking at her. I felt that my spirits had been true to me. I felt sa'ah naaghei bik'eh hozhoo. - (balance in daily life.)

I slept well.

Friday when we woke up I told Amy about my dream. She smiled and said, “Yes, you are at ease with yourself. I can feel it.”

Friday all four of us had to be on campus early. And then Amy was working in the ER from four to midnight, so she was going to come back to the house after her classes then going back to the hospital. Charlie and Jackie were going to be on campus all day, so I gave them a set of keys to the front door and front gate. And I reminded Amy to stop in the parking office and pick up a faculty parking permit. She said that she was also going to get one for the hospital’s employee parking lot.

After my classes, I was back in Dr. Joe’s office, and we were working on the project for Los Alamos. I’d read enough to be able to talk with Dr. Joe about my thoughts on the project. And from what I’ve read so far, I thought that the Los Alamos write up was a little overboard and that what they wanted could be done in a simpler way.

After I’d explained my thoughts to Dr. Joe, he sat back, looked at me, thought for a few seconds, and said, “Dr. Nez, I think that you may be right.”

I ignored Dr. Joe’s comment about Dr. Nez, and said, “I want to reread this to be sure that I didn’t miss anything, then I’d like to sit down with Dr. Fontheim and discuss this with him.” Dr. Fontheim is our liaison with the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

“Good idea. I’ll call and see when he can meet with us.”

Dr. Joe picked up his phone and called Dr. Fontheim, and by the time he hung up, we had a meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon at one at Los Alamos. Then Dr. Joe said, “I’m going to let Dean Rutherford know about the meeting.”

“Why?”, I asked.

“He is responsible for this project, and we need to keep him in the loop.”

“You’re right.”

I read for another hour or so, and the more I read, the more I felt I was right in my thoughts on this project. Finally, Dr. Joe said, “Dr. Nez, it’s time to go home.”

As I gathered the things that needed to be put in the file cabinet, I said, “Would you stop with the doctor stuff.”

“No. Because it needs to be.”

I just shook my head, locked everything in the file cabinet, and said, “I may be in this weekend to make up for yesterday.”

“You have a good work ethic, Kai. But, I think that your feelings for friends are even stronger.”

“Dr. Joe, jobs come and go. Friends can be forever if you treat them the way that you want to be treated.”

“Go home, Kai. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Hágoónee' - (see you later), Dr. Joe. Have a good weekend, and say hello to Mary.”

“I will Kai. And, tell Charlie and Jackie that we’re thinking about them.”

“I will.”

I headed home. When I got there, no one else was there. Amy was at the ER, and Charlie and Jackie weren’t here yet. So I went, changed out of my teaching clothes, and tried to figure out what to have for supper. It had to be something that Charlie, Jackie, and I could have, and would still be good when Amy got home. But what?

As I was standing in the kitchen contemplating dinner, I heard the front door open, and Charlie say, “Anyone home?”

“I’m in the kitchen.”

Shortly Charlie and Jackie walked into the kitchen, and Jackie asked, “Whatcha doing, Kai?”

“Trying to figure out something for dinner.”

“Let me do that, you go and relax.”

I looked at Charlie and asked, “Is she always like this?”

“Yes. She won’t let me in her kitchen.”, Charlie replied.

“Amy and I cook together.”

“I know. But I’m a terrible cook.”

I let Jackie cook dinner, and she came up with a good meal of spaghetti, meatballs, and crusty Italian bread. There was enough left for Amy when she got home. As we ate, Jackie asked, “Kai, what do you do when Amy’s working?”

“I usually read. And now, being in the house, I can also sit outside and enjoy an unobstructed view of the sky and a nice fire.”

“That sounds relaxing.”

“It is. It allows you to clear your head from the days' trouble.”

“Can we join you?”

“Of course. As the Spanish say, mi casa es tu casa.”

“I was at the maintenance office today.”, Charlie said. “And they were talking about the fire.”

“Oh?”, I said. “And what did they have to say.”

“They said that the State Fire Marshall is leaning towards an electrical short.”

“An electrical short?”

“They said that they found a penny behind three of the fuses in the electrical box for that apartment, and they took that box back to their laboratory for a closer look. They checked the other fuse boxes in the three apartments and found nothing.

“I bet you’re happy that there’s a circuit breaker panel in this house?”

“I am.”, I said. “But, they go bad too. And they usually trip too easily when they’re bad.”

“They were talking about replacing all the fuse boxes in the married student apartments with circuit breaker boxes this summer.”, Charlie said.

“Good idea. It’s just a little late.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Any word on your apartment or the whole unit?”

“Yes, the city inspectors and the university architect have been there, and it appears that the unit is structurally sound. But, Tim and Rachel’s apartment will have to be gutted and the interior completely rebuilt. The other three units will need to be cleaned, and they’re bringing in a company from outside that specializes in cleaning up after fires.”

“When is that going to happen?”

“They’ll be here Monday.”

“Did anyone say anything about the furniture that’s in your apartment?”

“Yes, I guess that there’s a chance that it can be cleaned.”

“That would be good.”

After we’d cleared up the dinner dishes, loaded and started the dishwasher, we went out into the courtyard. Then it hit me, I hadn’t checked the mailbox, so I excused myself and walked out to the mailbox. And we had mail.

There was a thick brown envelope from the bank, and I figured that was our payment book for the house. And it was.

There was also an envelope from our financial advisor. And a bill from the electric company, and one of my technical journals.

As I walked back through the house, I tossed all the mail except for the technical journal on the breakfast counter. Then I went back out to the courtyard. Charlie and Jackie were on one of the benches cuddled together. So, I laid and started a fire, then I turned on some lights, that only lit where I was sitting, so that I could read.

Then at about ten o’clock I heard the phone ring. I ran into the big room, picked up the phone, and said, “Hello.”

“Hi, honey.”

“Hi, sweetheart. What’s up?”

“We’re really jammed. I haven’t even had time for a lunch break. So, I won’t be home until late.”

“I’m a little worried about you driving home that late by yourself.”

“Honey, I’ll be fine. Security will walk me to my car when I’m ready to leave. So, don’t wait up.”

“I’ll wait up.”

“You’re sweet. But you don’t need to.”

“If I’m not on the couch, check the courtyard.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.

“I’ll be home as soon as I can. Hágoónee'. - (See you later.)”

“Hágoónee'.”

I hung up the phone, went back to the courtyard, and tossed a couple of larger logs on the fire. Then I sat back down and said, “It’s going to be a long night.”

“Why? What happened?”, Jackie asked.

“I guess the ER is really busy, so Amy won’t be home until late.”

“You going to stay up?”

“Of course. I won’t guarantee that I’ll be awake when she gets home, but I won’t be in bed.”

“Want us to stay up with you.”

“Oh, Great Spirit, no. One sleepy person is more than enough.”

“Are we going to finish the garage door openers tomorrow?”, Charlie asked.

“I don’t see why not.”

“Maybe we can even look at hanging some of the wall hangings.”

“We’ll see what time Amy and I finally get up. Feel free to fix yourself breakfast if we’re not up that early. And I’d be surprised if we were up before noon.”

We sat together for another hour, looking at the Moon and stars. Then Charlie and Jackie turned in. And that was at about eleven.

The fire was burning well, so I stayed out on the courtyard and fell asleep — not the most comfortable place to sleep.

I was startled awake by a kiss on my cheek, I looked up, and it was Amy. She said, “Come on, sleepyhead. You go to bed, and I’m going to take a shower.”

“What time is it?”, I asked.

“Two o’clock.”

“Two in the morning!?”

“Yes, love. Two in the morning.”

I got up and kissed her. Then as she went to take her shower, and I closed up the house. Then I went into our bedroom, undressed, slipped into bed, and was instantly asleep.

Sometime late Saturday morning I woke up, Amy was cuddled up to me and sound asleep. I worked my way out of bed and somehow didn’t wake Amy. I remembered that we had house guests and grabbed my clothes and went to our bathroom and got dressed.

I walked out into the big room, and Charlie and Jackie were sitting on the couch watching television. And, I asked, “Find anything interesting?”

“Good morning, Kai.”, Jackie said. “What time did you get to bed?”

“I’m not sure, but it was late.”

“It was about two.”, a sweet voice from behind me said.

“Good morning, Amy.”, Jackie said. “Rough night?”

“Good morning.”, Amy said. “A very rough night.

“Everyone have breakfast?”

“Charlie and I did.”

“It’s about lunchtime.”, I said. “Isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“No wonder I’m hungry.”

Amy and Jackie put together a nice lunch for us, and as we were eating, Charlie reached into his pocket and laid two controllers on the table. I looked at him and asked, “What are these?”

“The spare controllers for your two garage doors.”, Charlie replied.

“What, you installed the two openers without me?”

“Yeah. I needed something to do this morning to take my mind off of everything that’s happened. So Jackie helped me, and we got them installed this morning.”

“Thank you.”

“We mounted the two buttons right next to the door from the house to the garage.”

“That’s perfect. That’s where I’d have put them. Show me.”

Charlie and I went out to the garage, and I tried the doors. They worked perfectly. And I said, “Charlie, I really appreciate this.”

“My pleasure, Kai.”, Charlie said.

We went back into the house, and Amy asked, “So, how did they do?”

“They did a wonderful job.”, I said.

“Good. Now you two can help me hang the wall hangings.”

“Ah, honey. Did you forget, we haven’t gotten the hardware from Mr. Yazzie yet.”