When we had visited the Eagles, I had gotten the feeling that they knew about our problem. Are they really the couriers between the Great Spirit and us?

The project is over. We’d turned it over to our people at Los Alamos, and they’d taken us to lunch. After we’d eaten, my Dean, Dr. Rutherford, had given me the letter offering me the position of Research Associate. And, I almost blew it with my big mouth.

Our parents made it safely back from there two-week driving vacation. And we had to tell them about our problem with getting pregnant.

On Friday, we were heading to the resort for both the barbecue and a night of relaxation in the thermal pools.

So, right after lunch, we headed north. Dad was driving the ‘53 Corvette, and my father-in-law was riding with him. And Amy, my mother, and my mother-in-law were riding with me in the ‘57 Chevy Bel Air. We had the tops down on both cars.

At one point on I-25, my dad opened up the Corvette and tried to pull away from us, but the ‘57 Chevy has too much under the hood. I caught up with him without a problem and passed him. I knew dad hadn’t opened up the Corvette, because we were nowhere close to the one-hundred miles per hour top end on the Corvette.

Then I slowed back down to the speed limit. And as I did, my mother said, “That was fun, especially with the top down. Except that my hair’s a mess.”

“Mom, that’s why I always wear my hair in either a ponytail or braids.”, I said. “Especially when I’m driving one of the convertibles.”

Then my dad pulled up next to us and shook his head. I looked at him and grinned.

A while later, we were pulling into the resort, and we parked by the house. As we got out of the cars, my dad asked, “How hard did you have to push the ‘57 to catch up?”

“Not hard at all.”, I replied. “On the open road, your Corvette wouldn’t stand a chance. But I wouldn’t want to try to beat it on a road course. The Corvette is a sports car and handles like one.”

Dad just smiled and nodded, yes.

We walked into the house, and both Aunt Ruth and Uncle Paul were there. And there were all kinds of greetings. My dad told Uncle Paul that he’d driven the Corvette up and would like to put it in the garage. Uncle Paul told him that it wouldn’t be a problem.

Then I said that I’d also driven the ‘57 Chevy up and would like to put it in a garage too. Uncle Paul looked at me and said, “That old rust bucket. It can sit outside.”

“Rust bucket!?”, I said. “Well then, I guess you don’t want to drive it.”

“Okay. We’ll find a place for it.”

Then Aunt Ruth said, “Slight change of plan. Kids, your Aunt Ginny and Uncle Gaagii will be here later. So, Kai, your parents, and Ginny and Gaagii are staying here in the house. And Ajie, you and Kai, and your parents are staying in the Cliffside Suites.”

“That’ll be nice.”, I said. “Do Aunt Ginny and Uncle Gaagii know about our problem?”

“Yes, honey, they do. I didn’t think that you’d mind.”

“They’re family. So, I don’t mind.”

Uncle Paul, my dad, Ajie’s dad, and I moved the cars into the garage. Then we brought my parent's luggage into the house. As Ajie's parents, Ajie, and I were leaving the house to go to the hotel, I told everyone that we would see them at the barbecue as we wanted to soak in one of the mineral pools. Then we took our luggage and went to the hotel, checked in, and found our rooms in the Cliffside Suites.

Ajie’s parent’s room and our room were at opposite ends of the Cliffside Suites. So we stopped at their room first and showed them around. We made sure to show them the private soaking tub. And as we were leaving them, we told them that we’d see them at the barbecue.

Then Ajie and I headed to our room. It was the same room that we’d stayed in that one time we were here. When we walked into our room, there were two glasses and a full pitcher on the table, and a note. The note was from my Aunt Ruth, and it said: ‘Kids, I thought you could use some nice sangria. Love, Aunt Ruth.’

I looked at Ajie and said, “I think maybe we should just stay in the room and soak out on the patio.”

As Ajie started to undress, with a sly smile, she said, “I more than agree with you.”

We both undressed, and Ajie climbed into the soaking tub. I poured us both a glass of sangria, walked over to the soaking tub, handed Ajie her drink, then I joined her in the tub.

We spent about a half an hour soaking in the tub and sipping sangria. Then we took a shower. Yes, a together shower. And of course, that lead to other things that ended up in the bed.

Finally, we started getting ready for the barbecue. It was the usual long skirt, fancy blouse, and wrap moccasins. Both of us put our hair in single braids with the four colored leather strips the represented the four sacred mountains. Then we added the jewelry. As we did that, I handed Ajie an envelope. She gave me a questioning look and asked, “What’s this?”

“Open it and see.”, I replied.

Ajie opened the envelope and took out the card, as she looked at it, she smiled. Then she said, “I’ve always loved these funny cards that you find.”

“I know. And I’ll always try and find one for you.”

Then I said, “Oh! I almost forgot.”

I walked over to my suitcase and took out a box that was wrapped in pretty paper with a bow and everything. I handed the box to Ajie, and she said, “Now what?”

“Something pretty for someone pretty.”, I replied.

“You didn’t need to get me anything.”

“Of course I did, you only turn twenty-three once. Open it.”’

Ajie carefully opened the box, and when she took off the lid, she looked at me and said, “Kai, this is really too much.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Where did you get this?”

“Remember, we asked Cousin Ahiga to find out about the piece of silver that the one collector had with Great-Great-Great-Grandfather Tse Nez’s maker’s mark on it.”

“Is this that piece of jewelry?”

“Yes, take a look at the back of it.”

Ajie looked at the back and said, “That is Grandpa Tse Nez’s maker’s mark. Isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.”, I replied.

“It’s one of his early pieces too.”

“If the theory that a hand-engraved marker’s mark means an early piece, then yes.” 

“Put it on me.”

I took the squash blossom necklace from her. Walked behind her, placed the necklace around her neck, and fastened the clasp. I walked back in front of her and said, “That necklace is you.”

Ajie looked at me, shook her head, and said, “I love you.”

Before I could say anything, her arms went around my neck, and we kissed. A long kiss. As we broke the kiss, I was finally able to say, “Ajie, I love you too.”

We both put on the braided leather headbands with the Eagle feathers, and then we headed to the barbecue area. As we walked, Ajie asked, “How did you get this necklace?”

“Well.”, I said. “You weren’t home when Cousin Ahiga called and told me that he’d gotten ahold of that collector and that he was willing to part with it. So, we worked out the details. And you see what you got.”

“This is mine?”

“Of course, it is. I gave it to you, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did.”

When we walked into the barbecue area, there were a lot of people here. We did see Naainish, but no Chief Kinlicheeny. But Chief Tom was here, so Vickie probably was also here. We also saw Chief Clah. Then we saw our families, and Aunt Ginny and Uncle Gaagii were even here. We walked over to them.

My mother was the first one to comment on Ajie's new necklace when she said, “Ajie, that necklace is so pretty.”

“Thanks, mom.”, Ajie said. “Kai just gave it to me for my birthday. It’s one of Grandfather Tse Nez’s early pieces of work.”

“That is a wonderful piece of work.”, my Aunt Ginny said.

“It is.”, Aunt Ruth said.

Aunt Ginny walked over to me, hugged me, and whispered, “Kai, I’m so sorry to hear about the problem.”

“Thank, Aunt Ginny.”, I whispered back. “We’ll work it out.”

“I know you will, honey. Both of you are very strong.”

Then I caught Dibe heading towards us, and when she got to us, both Ajie and I got big hugs. Then I said to Dibe, “Okay, young lady, what were your grades like this past quarter?”

“Five A’s and a B.”

“That’s good for a freshman.”

“You think?”

“Yes, Dibe, that is excellent for your first year of college.”, Ajie added. “We’re proud of you.”

“Thanks, guys.”, Dibe said. “Hearing that from you means a lot to me. Gotta run.”

“And, I’m happy to see that you’re still dancing.”, I yelled after Dibe.

She turned and yelled, “I love it too much to stop.”

We followed her over to where she was dancing with her friends. And along with several guests, we watched them for a little while. And I loved the comments that I was hearing about the dancers from the guests.

Then I saw my uncle wave at me. The food must be ready. I whispered to Ajie, “Come on. It’s time to do the introductions.”

Ajie and I walked up to where my Uncle Paul was, he handed me the microphone and said, “There aren’t many special guests tonight, Kai.”

“I know.”, I said. “I saw Chief Clah and Chief Tom, and of course, Naainish. Is that it?”

“That’s it, Kai.”

I waited until the dancers and musicians finished their number, then I went into my usual welcoming speech. After I’d introduced the two chiefs, instead of introducing Naainish, I said, “I have one more special thing to do.”

I turned and looked at Ajie. I think she knew what I was going to do because she said, “Don’t you dare.”

But I said, “Today is a special day for my cousin. So, Aaa hózho´ogo ni'dizhchi´, Ajie Nez.”

Then I said into the microphone, “Today is my cousin Ajie Nez’s birthday, and I just, in Navajo, wished her a happy birthday. Now, if Naainish Yazzie, our medicine man, will join me. He can give a short prayer, and we can eat.”

Naainish did join me, and he said his prayer. Then I told everyone that the food was ready. As Ajie and I walked towards the food line, she whispered, “Kai, you’ll pay for that.”

I looked at her, smiled, and said, “I always do?”

We picked up our food and walked over to the table where our parents and both sets of our aunts and uncles were sitting. As we sat, four envelopes were placed in front of Ajie. And everyone said happy birthday.

Between bites of food, Ajie opened her cards, she received checks for both of our parents, and our aunts and uncles had something for her at the house. And she thanked everyone.

Then Uncle Gaagii asked, “So, hows the scholarship?”

“We were able to give three out this year.”, Ajie said.

“That’s wonderful.”, Aunt Ginny said. “To who?”

“I’m not sure, but I do know that one went to a boy in Window Rock, another one to a boy on the west side of the Nation, and the third to someone near here.”

“We’re going to start collecting information on each one just to see how they do.”, I said.

“That could be interesting.”, my dad said.

“We thought so too.”

After we’d finished eating, Ajie and I walked around, talking to the guests. Then as the Sun was starting to set, we went to the house, picked up a rug, and went to the bonfire. As we sat at the fire, we listened to Naainish chanting. And I had a vision. A vision of the Indian girl, the wolf, was next to her with his head on her lap, and the Eagle was next to them. The Eagle was again holding the three necklaces.

When Ajie and I finished our meditation, we stood, and Ajie said, “Did you have a vision tonight?”

“Yes.”, I replied. “Did you?”

“Yes. It was the Indian girl, the wolf, and the Eagle who was holding the three necklaces.”

“That’s what mine was.”

“Should we ask Naainish about it?”

I looked over to where Naainish had been, and he was gone. Then I said, “I feel that this is something that we are meant to solve ourselves.”

“I think you’re right.”

We walked over to our family, and my Aunt Ruth asked, “Are you two okay?”

“Yes.”, I said. “We both had the same vision. Now, all we have to do is figure out what it means.”

“Could Naainish help?”

“We both feel that this something that we need to do together.”

“It will come in time.”

Ajie and I walked around and talked to some of the guests. Then we headed back to the house to return the rug. When we walked into the house, we heard voices coming from the patio. I walked over to the door to the patio, and what I saw surprised me.

I looked at Ajie, “It looks like a meeting of the minds out there.”

“Why?”

“Both sets of our parents are out there, as are both sets of our aunts and uncles, so is Chief Clah and his wife Mai, and so is Chief Tom and Vickie. Plus, Naainish.”

Someone must have seen us looking through the window because just as we were ready to go to our room in the Cliffside Suites, my Uncle Paul opened the door from the patio and said, “Hey kids, come out and join us.”

“We just want to go to our room, Uncle Paul.”

“No, come on, we want you to join us.”

“Okay.”

We followed Uncle Paul out onto the patio, and Ajie and I sat side by side in chairs. There was a nice fire burning in the fire pit.

“Kai. Ajie.”, My mother said. “We’ve been talking about the two of you. And everyone here knows about the problem.”

I sat back, crossed my arms over chest, and asked, “Why does everyone here know?”

“Because we’re concerned about you.”, Chief Clah said.

“Chief. Everyone. We are working this out ourselves. I’m feeling better about it. And I think Ajie is also feeling better about it.”

“I am.”, Ajie said.

“Just like with the hurt of grandma’s death, it will never be completely gone. But it will move to the background. We need time to work through it. Please give us a chance to get over this.”

“We know, honey.”, my mother said. “And we know that it’ll take time.

“And we’ve talked about something that we’d like you to think about.”

I stood up and said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to talk about this right now. It’s just too soon, and it just hurts too much.”

“Honey.”, Ajie said. “Go on to our room. I’ll stay and hear what they have to say.”

I looked at Ajie, she gave me a little smile, nodded yes, and she said, “Go on, honey. I won’t belong.”

I just walked off the back of the patio and towards our room. But I didn’t make it to the room. I walked to where the bonfire had been, and it was still smoldering. I sat on a bench and just watched the smoke. I could feel the spirit of the fire. Then the tears came. How long I sat there, I don’t know. But I heard a voice, Ajie's voice, say, “Thank the Great Spirit, there you are. You scared me. I went to the room, and you weren’t there. Then I started looking for you, and I couldn’t find you. I was about ready to get help in looking for you.”

I looked at her and said, “Sorry.”

“Honey, all that matters is that you’re safe.”

“I just needed to be alone.”

“I know. Sometimes we need that.”

“I’m sorry that I scared you.”

“It’s alright. We’re together now.” Ajie sat down next to me, and we held each other.

Finally, we got up and walked hand in hand back to our room. As I walked in, I undressed, walked over to the soaking tub, and as I got in, I asked, “Is there any sangria left.”

“Maybe half a glass.”, Ajie replied.

“Can I have it?”

“Of course. But it’ll be warm.”

“I don’t care.”

Ajie poured me the half glass of sangria, walked over to the soaking tub, handed me the glass, then she undressed and joined me in the tub. We spent about twenty minutes in the tub, took a quick shower, dried off, and went to bed.

Saturday morning, we were up early, dressed, and on the way up the cliff trail. We knew that there were other guests already up on the cliff or on the way up. And we wanted to be alone, so when we were up on the cliff, we went over to where the little tree is.

The little tree looked good, and it had grown. That brought a good feeling to me. Ajie and I stood there looking to the east, waiting for the Sun to come us. The twilight was getting brighter, and then just before the edge of the Sun cleared the horizon, there were pretty golds, yellows, and hints of reds.

As the edge of the Sun cleared the horizon, we heard a scream from the group of guests that were at the top of the cliff trail. Ajie and I looked at each other then ran over there. I was shocked by what I saw.

There was a wolf, a big wolf, standing about twenty yards from the group of guests. Ajie and I ran and got between the wolf and the guests. Don’t ask me why we did that, but we did. As I watched the wolf, Ajie turned to the guests, and in her take-charge voice, said, “Listen to me. He won’t hurt you. Back slowly away from him. Don’t run. Then go back down the trail.”

I heard a man say, “We just turned around, and he was there. Won’t he attack you?”

“No, sir, he won’t. Just do like I said, and everything will be fine.”

Ajie turned and stood next to me, we looked at the wolf, and he looked at us. I could feel his spirit, and it was a good feeling. He wasn’t going to attack us. We looked at each other for less than a minute, then he turned and walked away.

As he walked away, I whispered, “That was a little intense.”

“Yes.”, Ajie said. “You felt something from him. Didn’t you?”

“Yes, he was at peace with us. And was just curious.”

“Nothing more.”

“Yes, but I’m not sure what it was.”

We turned and started walking back down the cliff trail. Just as we got to the bottom of the trail, my Uncle Paul and Uncle Gaagii showed up carrying rifles. Uncle Paul asked, “Are you two okay?”

“Why wouldn’t we be?”, I asked.

“We had a bunch of guests run into the hotel and tell the clerk about two girls and a wolf up on the cliff.”

“There was a wolf up there, and we were up there. The wolf was closer than I’ve ever seen one.”

“So, what happened?”

“We just visited for a minute or so, and then he walked off.”

“And you just stood there?”

“Yes, he wasn’t going to hurt us.”

“How can you be sure?”, Uncle Gaagii asked.

“Uncle Gaagii.”, Amy said. “Kai can feel their spirit. She’s done it with the Mountain People (bears). The wolf was curious about us and at peace with us.”

Uncle Gaagii just shook his head. Then Uncle Paul said, “Gaagii, I’ve heard their stories before. Kai does have a way with the animals.”

Our uncles went back to the house, and Ajie and I stopped at our room and packed up. Then as we walked into the hotel lobby, I was happy to see Shilah behind the desk. He was the room clerk that saved me when I was attacked here a few years ago. There were also a few guests standing at the counter.

Shilah saw us and said, “Miss Kai, are you and Miss Ajie all right?”

“Yes, Shilah, we are.”, I replied.

“You had a number of the guests worried about you.”

“Shilah, the mai-coh (wolf) was just curious about us. He stayed for about a minute and then just walked off. We didn’t feel anything bad from him.”

I handed Shilah our room keys, and said, “Hágoónee', Shilah. - (See you later, Shilah.”)

“Hágoónee', Miss Kai. Miss Ajie.”

Ajie said, “Hágoónee', Shilah.”

None of the guests that were standing there said anything but listened to the exchange between Shila and us. I figured that he’d be fielding questions.

As we walked into the house, everyone else was up, and our parents looked at us, and my dad said, “A wolf.”

“Yes, daddy.”, I said. “A wolf.”

“Weren’t you afraid?”, Ajie’s mother asked.

“Mom.”, Ajie said. “I was concerned for the guests that were up there. They were almost in a panic. He was a big wolf and only fifty or sixty feet away. But, I could feel how Kai felt about the wolf, and she was at ease with it. So was I, and I tried to convey that to the guests that were there.”

“Daughter, you’re braver than I am.”, Ajie’s father said.

“Daddy, you’ll only know that if you are in the same position.”

“There’s always excitement with you two.”, Uncle Gaagii said.

I looked at Uncle Gaagii and said, “Reminds you of your days in the police department. Doesn’t it?”

“In a way, Kai. But your exploits always turn out for the best.”

“Not always, Uncle Gaagii. The beating that I took has now come back to haunt me … us.”

“Have you talked with Ajie about what we talked to her about last night?”, my mother asked.

“Mom.”, I said. “I know that you guys may have come up with an idea. But I’m not ready to think or talk about anything to do with it. In time, my time, I will.”

“I understand, honey.”

“Kids.”, my Aunt Ruth said. “Come and help your Aunt Ginny and me with breakfast.”

The four of us put together breakfast. It was an egg and potato skillet. That consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, crispy potato bits, and salsa with smoked cheddar cheese on top. Having warm tortillas ready is also highly recommended. There was juice for everyone and coffee for those that wanted it.

As we ate, I said, “Dad, Ajie and I have to get back home to prepare for the open house. So, why don’t we drive the Corvette back, and then you and Ajie’s dad can fight over who gets to drive the ‘57 Chevy home when you’re ready?”

“That works for me.”, my dad said.

“We do have to make a side trip to Taos. If that’s okay?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

After Ajie and I helped Aunt Ruth and Aunt Ginny clean up from breakfast, we put our suitcases in the ‘57 Chevy and the camera case in the Corvette. Everyone was standing outside of the garage, as Ajie and I put the top down on the Vette, got in, and backed out. We said hágoónee' - (see you later) to everyone and headed north to Taos.

We didn’t spend much time with Mr. Yazzie. It was just enough time to say hello, look at the three necklaces, and haggle over what he wanted to charge us. We ended up paying him fifteen dollars for the three. Then we told him that we’d be back when we could spend more time.

Then we headed south, and once back in Albuquerque, our first stop was at Nunzio's Pizza, and we placed an order for a dozen large pizzas to be delivered to the house by two tomorrow afternoon and also paid for them. We also ordered some anchovies on the side.

Then we stopped and picked up some helium-filled balloons. They were for the mailbox so people would know that they were at the right house.

Then it was home. We pulled the Corvette into the double deep garage bay. Dusted it off, put the top up, and covered it. As we were covering the Vette, Amy said, “You should get a cover for the ‘57.”

“I’ve thought about that.”, I replied. “But have never done it.”

“Just do it.”

“JC Whitney should have one. I’ll look.”

We put all the silver jewelry, including the three necklaces that we’d just gotten from Mr. Yazzie, in the safe.

As we started cleaning, I made Amy promise me that she wouldn’t get carried away. She promised me that she wouldn’t. I’ll believe it when I see it.

I went out to the hogan and stripped the bed and remade it. Then I refilled all of the kerosene lanterns and laid a nice fire in the fire pit. Note to self, buy more lantern fuel.

Then I went out to the big woodpile with the wheelbarrow and started loading the wheelbarrow with wood to replenish the wood supply for the hogan and courtyard. And while I was loading the wheelbarrow, I heard someone drive into the driveway. The sound of the motor was familiar. It was the ‘57 Chevy, but why is there a truck behind it?

I stood at the woodpile and watched as the car and the truck pulled up to the house. The truck was the truck from the resort, and my Uncle Paul, Charlie, and Jackie were in the truck. I walked over to the truck and asked my uncle, who was driving, “What are you guys doing here?”

“Making a delivery.”, Uncle Paul said.

The three of them climbed down out of the truck, and I got a hug from Jackie, and she asked, “Where’s Amy?”

“In the house someplace.”, I replied. “Go on in.”

Jackie ran towards the house. Then I looked at my uncle and Charlie and said, “And what are you two up to?”

“Charlie came to me with an idea.”, Uncle Paul said. “And I thought it was a good idea. So we spent a little time building something for you and Ajie.”

By now, my dad and my father-in-law had joined us.

“What did you build?”, I asked Charlie.”

“Something that you said that you’d like to have.”, Charlie replied.

“What?”

“Come with me.” 

As Charlie walked to the back of the truck, we followed him, and when he lowered the tailgate, I saw two coffee tables. Then Charlie said, “When you bought the couches for out in the courtyard, you said something about wanting to get tables for in front of them. So I went to your uncle with the idea, and he said we could build them.

“So we got some tree limbs, some glass, and using the tools at the resort, we made the two tables. And knowing that you like the rustic look, we went with that.”

I stared at the tables, then said, “Wow. But why?”

“Kai.”, Charlie said. “After everything that you and Amy have done for Jackie and me, it’s the least we could do.”

Uncle Paul then said, “Don’t let him kid you. I sat and watched Charlie work. He’s a real craftsman when it comes to working with wood. And he did ninety-nine percent of the work.”

We unloaded the two tables from the back of the truck. The glass tops were wrapped in shipping blankets, and we’d get those later. We carried the two tables to the backyard and through the back gate into the courtyard. Amy, Jackie, and our two mothers were waiting in the courtyard. We placed the longer table in front of the bigger couch and the smaller table in front of the smaller couch. Then we went and brought the glass tops into the courtyard and put them in place.

We all stood back and looked at them. Jackie then said, “Kai and Amy, these are our housewarming gift to you.”

Amy looked at Jackie, shook her head, and said, “Kids, they are fantastic. And we love them. Thank you very much. And the rustic look makes them wonderful.”

Amy and I hugged both Charlie and Jackie.

Charlie, Jackie, and Uncle Paul didn’t stay long, and as they were leaving, they said that they’d see us tomorrow. I walked out to the truck with them, and when I walked back into the house, I saw everyone out in the courtyard talking. I decided to finish my chore. I pushed the wheelbarrow to the hogan and re-stacked the wood outside the door. Then I went to the gate to the back courtyard, and as I pushed the wheelbarrow through the gate, everyone looked at me, and Amy asked, “What are you doing?”

“Finishing my chore.”, I replied.

“Honey, leave that for later and come sit with us.”

I tossed my gloves onto the wood in the wheelbarrow. Then I walked over and sat next to Amy on the small couch. Our parents were sitting on the big couch. My mother looked at me and asked, “Honey, are you okay?”

“Not really.”, I said. “It’s just going to take time.”

“We understand that it’s a real shock to hear something like that.”

“I know I’m sitting here looking like a girl, but Tommy is still here. And learning that you can’t father children is a major shock.

“So, are you and dad going to spend a night in the hogan.”

“Changing the subject?”, my mother asked.

“Yes, please.”, I said.

“I understand. And yes, your father and I would like a night in the hogan.”

“Tonight or tomorrow night?”

“What with us leaving Monday morning.”, my dad said. “Tonight might be the best.”

“You’re probably right, dad.”, I said. “It’s all ready for you. Anyone want to run to the hardware store with me. I need to pick up some lantern fuel.”

“Sure, Kai.”, my dad said.

“I’ll go too.”, my father-in-law said.

The three of us ran to the hardware store, and along with picking up more lantern fuel, we looked around. So, we were gone longer than we should have been. And when we got back to the house, we heard about it.

Because we’d been gone for so long, Amy put my dad, her dad, and me to work making dinner. At least I can cook, so the two dads followed my instructions. Our salads, steaks, and baked potatoes were a hit. I threw together something called pud de chocolate, canela y chile for dessert, which is chocolate pudding with cinnamon and ground red chili powder. I wasn’t sure that our parents would like it, but they did.

And I could always count on Amy to make a good sangria, and she had. We took glasses and two pitchers of sangria out into the courtyard and christened the two new coffee tables.

As we sat out in the courtyard, we just chatted until the twilight turned into night, and the stars were out. My mother-in-law said, “It is so nice out here. Kids, you did a good job in choosing this house.”

“Thanks, mom.”, Amy said. Then Amy pointed and almost shouted, “Look! There’s three meteorites. Two followed by a third.”

We watched until the three meteorites disappeared. We didn’t know if they’d burned up in the atmosphere or hit the earth.

“I just don’t know about this.”, I said.

“Don’t know what, honey?”, my mother asked.

“We’ve just received so many strange signs. So many groups of three. The three eaglets. The three necklaces. Just now, the three meteorites. The three wall hangings in the entranceway. Then there are other things. Like the vision that both Ajie and I had at the bonfire last night. The wolf this morning. The confusing message that we received at the sacred place. And other things.

“I just don’t know what it all means.”

“Is there anyone that you could talk to?”, my father-in-law asked.

“Maybe Naainish. But maybe someone not so close to us.”, I replied.

“Quah Ah?”, Amy said.

“That’s a thought. She may be here tomorrow, and we can ask.”

“Who’s this Quah Ah?”, my mother asked.

“She’s the medicine woman from the Taos Pueblo.”, I replied.

“You know her?”

“Yes, we’re friends.”

“Is she also too close?”

“We’ll let her tell us that.”

Later just like what we did with Amy’s parents when my parents were ready for bed, we took them to the hogan. Then I lit the two bedside lanterns and the fire. As we said, “Yá'át'ééh hiilchi'i'. – (Good night.)” I handed my father the keys and the flashlight.

Back in the house, we said good night to Amy’s parents, then Amy and I locked up the house and also went to bed.

It wasn’t long after we were in bed that I could tell by Amy’s breathing that she was asleep. But I wasn’t. This whole thing from being told that I’d never be able to father children to all of the signs that we’d received had my mind going.

Sleep wasn’t coming, so I carefully worked my way out of bed, slipped on my robe, and went out into the back courtyard. The fire in the fire pit was still smoldering, so I tossed a couple pieces of wood into it. Then I sat on the couch and watched the smoke rise from the fire. One of the logs that I tossed into the fire finally started to burn.

It was close to one on Sunday morning when I heard the sliding door from our bedroom open. I looked, and Amy walked out, looked at me, and walked over to where I was sitting. She looked at me, then sat down next to me. Finally, she said, “Honey, I know what’s bothering you, and we need to talk about it.”

“No, it’ll work itself out.”, I replied.

“No, it won’t! It’s beginning to wear on you. You’re not my Kai. And I don’t like what I’m seeing.”

I felt the tears start. Then I said, “You’re right. I’ve always been able to solve problems, but now I’ve discovered a problem that I can’t solve. A problem that affects both of us, and it's driving me crazy. Then there's all these strange signs we’ve received. And everything is in threes. Why?”

“Honey, I don’t know either. But we have to grasp the problem of no children and accept it.”

“I know. But it’s hard to realize that we’ll never have children.”

“I know love.”, Amy said. “But what everyone was talking the other night at the resort is something that we may want to consider.”

“Okay. What was it?”

“Chief Clah works closely with the Navajo Children and Family Services people. And one of the things that we talked about was foster care and adoption.”

“I … I don’t know.”

“Love, we both love children, and there are children out in the Nation that need help. And we can help them. We’ve helped those that have the drive to go to college with the scholarships. But there are others, younger ones, that need help too.”

“By what adopting one?”

“That’s possible or maybe fostering one.”

I didn’t say anything for a minute. Then I asked, “Could you do this?”

“I think I could if you could.”

“I’ve got to think about this.”

“I know you do. And we have to talk more about it.”

We cuddled together for a little while, then I said, “Honey, let’s try and get some sleep.”

We went back to bed and did sleep. As we were getting up the following morning, I said, “I had a dream.”

“Oh?”, Amy said.

 “Uh huh. The Indian girl, the wolf, and the Eagle. And again, the wolf had his head on the girl’s lap, and the Eagle was holding the necklaces.”

“So, the wolf is telling us that everything is in harmony?”

“He is. But is it? Right now, I’m confused. How can everything be in harmony with what’s going on? Is it in harmony?”

“Honey, we may be overthinking it. Maybe we’re being led to where we need to be.”

“Where we need to be?”

“Uh huh, helping others.”

I looked at Amy for a few seconds, then said, “Oh great wise one. Are you seeing the path we should be taking?”

“I think I’m seeing a path that we should investigate. A path that we might take. One that we need to investigate together before we venture too far down it.”

“Love, you may just be right.”

We dressed and went out into the house. Our parents were watching the news on the television. I asked my parents, “So, mom and dad, how was the night in the hogan.”

“It was wonderful.”, my mother said. “It was so peaceful that you couldn’t help but get a good night's sleep.”

I could tell that my dad agreed with her.

After breakfast, Amy and I went to work getting ready for the open house. We told our parents that they were to do nothing but relax. I won’t go into the details, but after cleaning both fire pits, relaying the fires, and refilling the two lanterns, I was covered in ash. So it was into the shower.

At about one, the doorbell rang, I opened it, and it was Charlie and Jackie. As they walked up, Charlie said, “We got here as early as we could to help.”

“Thanks, guys.”, I said. “Jackie, Amy’s in the kitchen go see what she needs. Charlie, come with me.”

As Jackie went to the kitchen, Charlie and I went to the office. As I grabbed the helium-filled balloons and handed them to Charlie, I said, “Take these down to the mailbox and tie them to it.”

Charlie did as I asked.

Just before two in the afternoon, the doorbell rang. I half-ran to the door, and it was the delivery guy from Nunzio's Pizza. He had four pizzas with him and said he’d bring the rest. I took the four pizzas into the kitchen and asked Charlie to go to the front door and get the pizzas from the guy. On my way back to the front door, I grabbed my purse. I passed Charlie, and he was carrying four pizza boxes, and I told him that I’d get the rest. When the guy brought the last four pizzas, he also had a bag with him. And he said the anchovies were in the bag. I dug his tip out of my purse and handed it to him as he gave me the last four boxes and the bag. He was happy with his tip.

As the pizza guy left, I left both of the front doors open and both doors from the entranceway into the big room open. Then I went and lit the fire in the fire pit in the courtyard. Then Charlie and I went out to the hogan and lit all ten lanterns, but not the fire.

When we were back in the house, both sets of my aunts and uncles were there. I’m not going to go into detail on the open house. But I was pleasantly surprised as to how many people showed up. Everyone from the President of University, Dr. Lingham and his wife. To Chief Kinlicheeny and his wife, who I’d never met before. To Quah Ah of the Taos Pueblo. To Dean Rutherford and his wife. To Chief Clah and his wife, Mai. Mr. Yazzie and his wife were there. Iz and Nita from the Santa Ana Pueblo also came, as did Chief Tom and Vickie. Of course, Naainish was here the whole time. And many more people. Some people came and went; some stayed a while. Our parents were having fun meeting and talking to people. Amy, Jackie, Charlie, and I were kept busy keeping food available and introducing people.

I can’t believe how I felt when Dr. Joe and Mary walked in with little Mark. I looked at little Mark and smiled, and he smiled back at me. I got a warm feeling. My dad really liked Dr. Joe.

Amy and I were able to corner Quah Ah, the medicine woman. We told her about what was going on, including my problem with fathering children. When we told her about my problem, she quietly said, “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

After we finished telling her everything, she said, “Let me talk to Naainish for a minute.”

She walked off to find Naainish. And, we went back to working on the open house.

By six o’clock, most everyone had come and gone. The only ones left were Naainish, Quah Ah, and Charlie and Jackie, who had stayed to help clean up. And of course our parents.

Where Naainish and Quah Ah had disappeared to, I wasn’t sure. But, with our mothers, Charlie and Jackie helping it didn’t take long to clean up. We did end up with three loads of dishes for the dishwasher.

It wasn’t long until Naainish and Quah Ah came back into the house. They’d been out in the hogan. Quah Ah said, “Is there someplace we can talk?”

I looked at everyone and said, “Whatever we have to talk about can be said in front of everyone here.”

“Good. Let’s go into the big room.”

We were all in the big room, us, our parents, the medicine people, Charlie, and Jackie. When we were all seated, Quah Ah, said, “Kai and Ajie, Naainish and I talked about what’s going on with the two of you. Neither of us knows the meaning of the images of three that you’ve received. But, the visitation from the wolf was to reinforce what the vision of the Indian Maiden, the wolf, and the Eagle are telling you.

“They’re telling you that even though you aren’t feeling it yet, that everything is in harmony. You are going in the direction that you need to go. And you’ll know when you finally reach it.”

I looked at Naainish and Quah Ah for a few seconds, then said, “Ajie and I have been talking. We even talked last night in the middle of the night. This isn’t set in stone, but what we’ve started talking about is adopting or fostering a child. And it would be a Navajo child.

“But we need to talk more about it and research it some more.”

I saw a rare sight, Naainish smiling. But then so was Quah Ah, both of our mothers, and Jackie.

We talked some more, then when everyone was leaving, we all walked out to the gate in the front courtyards wall and said, “Hágoónee' t'áá ájíltso. - (See you later all people [everyone].)”

As Jackie hugged Ajie and me, she said, “You two will make wonderful parents.”

After all the hugs and handshakes, Ajie, our parents, and I walked back into the house. As we walked in, I pulled the rope for the doorbell to hear it ring. Then I closed and locked the front doors, turned off the entranceway lights, and followed everyone out into the back courtyard. As they sat, I went out to the hogan and extinguished the kerosene lanterns. Then I locked up the hogan and went back into the courtyard and sat next to Amy.

My father-in-law looked at us and said, “Kids, that was fun. You have a bunch of wonderful friends and coworkers.”

“Yes.”, my dad said. “It was fun. Thank you.”

“We just had to do it.”, Amy said. “We needed everyone to meet. All of you are special to us in one way or another.”

“And dad.”, I said. “I didn’t know that you like anchovies, and I’m surprised that Jackie shared them with you.”

“She was happy to find someone else that likes them. But I like sardines better.”

“So.”, my mother asked. “You’re thinking of adopting or fostering a child.”

“Yes, mom we are.”, Amy said. “Kai and I both love children, and besides, if we adopted, you’d have a grandchild.”

“Honey.”, my mother said. “Even if you fostered a child, we’d look at them as a grandchild.”

“Yes, we would.”, Amy’s mom said.

“Thanks, mom and mom.”, Amy said. “That helps us a lot.”

“Kids.”, my mother said. “This vacation has been wonderful. And the best part of it was spending time with you.”