We’d made an appointment to meet with Chief Clah, and he suggested that he have someone from the Navajo Children and Family Services also there. I reluctantly agreed. Dr. Joe had overheard me talking to Amy about the upcoming meeting, and he and I had talked about adopting. Then we’d discussed my thesis and my doctoral.

On Thursday, Amy and I had had a very interesting meeting with Chief Clah and a lady, Mrs. Biakeddy, from the Navajo Children and Family Services. And Amy and I decided that we’re going to try to adopt.

The trip to the resort for the barbecue on Friday was interesting. First, on the way up, Amy and I discussed the possibility of legally changing our names. Why? If we adopt a child, his last name will become our legal surname name, which is Young — not a good Navajo surname. At the barbecue, my uncle had fun embarrassing me by wishing me a happy birthday in front of all the guests and then having a big birthday cake for me.

Ajie and I had a meeting with Chief Kinlicheeny, Chief Clah, and their wives. We talked about the possibility of Ajie and me legally changing our names. We know that we didn’t have to do it, but that we were correct about the child that we adopt taking our last name. We decided that we need to talk to our parents about this face to face. So it sounds like a trip home.

When we meditated at the bonfire, everything felt in harmony.

Surprise, Sunday morning, it was raining. Not a big rain, but enough to get everything wet. I’m glad that part of locking up the house at night is to bring the phone in from the courtyard. At least things out here dry up quickly after a rain.

Sunday morning and afternoon were normal things, like housework, research on my thesis, and Amy working on her text.

Sunday after dinner, we made phone calls, we called Larry and Kelly first and just talked about things. They were doing fine. Then we called Mark and Maria, and things with them were also good except that Maria was tired of being pregnant.

The next two calls, the calls to our parents, would be interesting.

I called home first, Amy and I were on separate extensions, and my mom and dad were on separate extensions at their house. After our usual chit chat, in which we didn’t mention the possible adoption, I said, “Mom. Dad. Amy and I have something important to talk to you about.”

Right off, my mom said, “Honey, is anything wrong?”

“No, mom, there’s nothing wrong. But we’ve decided to try to adopt a Navajo child.”

“That’s wonderful.”, my mother said. “When?”

“We’re not sure yet, we’re still working out the details. But there’s one detail that we need to talk to you guys and Amy’s mom and dad about. And we’d like to do that face to face. So we’re thinking of flying home for a couple of days.”

“It’s that important?”, My dad asked.

“We feel that it is, dad.”

“Well, if you feel it’s that important, come on home.”

“We need to know what day would be good for both you and Amy’s parents. After we talk to Amy’s parents, we’ll have them call you, and you pick the day that works best for you, and we’ll get a flight that will get us there in the early afternoon of that day.

“And we’d like to spend two nights. If that’s okay?”

“Honey.”, my mother said. “You can stay as long as you like.”

“Thanks, mom.”

We chatted a little longer, then called Amy’s mother and father, and the conversation about coming home to talk went about the same way.

Half an hour later, we received a call from my parents saying that Friday would be the best for them and Amy’s parents. We agreed that that would also work for us, and then as soon we knew when our flight would arrive in Columbus that we’d let them know.

I called the airline and got us round trip flights. We'd leave early next Friday morning. The flight went through Denver and then into Columbus at about two in the afternoon. I called my parents and gave them our flight information.

I also called my Aunt Ruth and told her that we were going back home for a couple of days, and wouldn’t be up for the barbecue this coming Friday. She asked if anything was wrong. And I told her no and that we’d explain when we were back.

We also called the crew, Larry and Kelly, and Mark and Maria, and told them that we be in town next weekend and would like to get together. We agreed to meet at Mark and Maria’s apartment at seven local time on Friday.

I’m not going to bore you with the first part of the week. For me, it was research on my paper, talking with the landscape designer from the garden center at the hardware store, and doing housework. Amy worked at the ER a couple of times. She also worked on her text and helped me with the housework.

Don’t get me wrong we did some fun things too. We went out to eat with Chief Tom and Vickie, and I had problems keeping the subject of the conversation off of the textbook that Amy was writing. We also took a walk along the river and sat on the bench where we usually visited with the Eagles and were surprised when both of the adult Eagles showed up and spent a few minutes with us. I still feel that they know what’s going on. Also, her Majesty, the Queen, was in her bedchamber on a regular basis with her Prince visiting her.

Early Friday morning Amy and I were on a plane heading for Columbus. As we sat in Denver for the layover, I asked Amy, “Honey, are we doing the right thing?”

“Wanting to change our names?”

“Yes.”

“What’s a name. It’s just a label. Your name may be Kai Nez right now, but you’re the same person that you are when you’re called Tom Young. With you, it’s what’s in your heart that makes you special. No matter if you’re Kai, Tammy, or Tommy, it will never change. Do I feel that we’re doing the right thing? Yes.”

“So, you feel like Juliet felt.”

“Yes, no matter what you’re called, you would be the same person. Just like when I’m called Ajie Nez. I’m still the same person that I am when I’m called Amy Young.”

“Yes, you are. Someone extraordinary.”

Just before two in the afternoon, after the stopover in Denver, we were walking down the boarding stairs and across the tarmac in Columbus. We saw our parents standing along the fence between the concourse and the tarmac. After we’d walked through the gate, we were greeted with hugs.

We walked to the baggage area and grabbed our two suitcases, and of course, I was carrying the camera case. We hadn’t brought much silver, but what we brought was in the camera case.

After we’d grabbed our baggage, we walked to the parking lot, and the six of us got into my dad’s car. The drive to my parent's house was a quiet one. We pulled into the garage and then walked into the house. As we gathered in the kitchen, my dad said, “All right. What’s going on?”

“Let’s go to the den and sit.”, I replied.

The six of us walked into the den and found seats. Nothing was said for a minute. Then Amy’s mother said, “Kids, what’s going on?”

“Mom.”, Amy said. “As we said, we’re going to adopt a Navajo child.”

“We knew that you were. But there’s more. Isn’t there?”

“Yes. One thing that happens when you adopt a child is that your last name becomes their last name. And, we both feel so strongly about the heritage of the Navajo people, that we feel that the child should have a Navajo last name, like Nez.”

“I can understand that.”, my mother said. “But, was it necessary for you to come home to tell us that.”

“There’s more, mom.”, I said.

“I thought so.”

“We’ve talked about legally changing our names.”

“Why? Couldn’t you change the child’s name?”

“We could, but then the continuity between the parents and the child is lost. We talked about this again on the plane, and a name is nothing but a label.”

“So, you came home to tell us this.”, Amy’s dad said. “Didn’t you?”

“Yes, daddy.”, Amy said. “We felt it was better to do it face to face than on the phone.”

“It is. And thank you for that.

“Daughter, you’ve already changed your last name once. When you married Tom.”

“I know daddy.”, Amy said. “We wanted to tell you before we went ahead with it and see how you feel about it.”

“Honey, I’m not completely happy about it, but you’ve taken to the people in New Mexico and from what we saw when we were out there they’ve taken to you. And I think that this is another way for the two of you to show your support for them, just like the scholarship that you set up.

“And, honey, no matter what you call yourself, you will always be who you are and my daughter.”

Amy got up, walked over to her father, hugged her, and said, “Daddy, I love you so much!”

I looked at my parents and asked, “Well, mom and dad, any thoughts?”

“Honey.”, my mother said. “You are who you are. No matter what you call yourself. And from what I’ve seen, both you and Amy are special people.”

“Kai.”, my dad said. “Amy’s father said it all.”

“So, you don’t have a problem with us doing this?”, I asked.

“No.”

“I don’t either.”, my mother said.

Amy’s mother also told us that she didn’t have a problem with it. And she asked, “So, kids, what’s it going to be?”

“Kai Nez and Ajie Nez.”, Amy replied. “But, it will only happen if we’re sure that we can adopt.”

“So, tell us about this adoption thing.”

We told them everything from the talks that we had to the meeting with Chief Clah and Mrs. Biakeddy. And then talking about everything and deciding to come home.

When we finished, my dad said, “So this Chief Clah is the Attorney General of the Navajo Nation. Talk about a high power attorney.”

“Dad, you met him at the open house.”, I said.

“Oh, yeah. I did. Nice guy.”

“A very nice guy.”

The six of us then went out to dinner. An early dinner for us, but we hadn’t eaten much since breakfast. After dinner, we dropped Amy’s parents off at their house and told them that we’d see them tomorrow.

Back at my mom and dad’s house, which now has a for sale sign in the front yard, we went in and freshened up before going to Mark and Maria’s apartment. As we were leaving, my parents told us to say hello to Mark and Maria for them.

We drove over to Mark and Maria’s apartment, and as we walked up to the door, we heard a lot of noise from inside. Then we heard Maria almost scream, “The baby is coming.”

Amy and I looked at each other, Amy grabbed the doorknob, and the door opened. Maria was sitting on the couch, and Mark was sitting next to her. Mark looked at us, and Amy asked, “What’s going on?”

“Her … Her water broke yesterday, we went to the hospital, and they said she wasn’t ready to deliver yet.”, Mark said. “Her contractions have been strong but not close together. Then all of a sudden, they got closer and closer, and she started saying that the baby was coming. I was just ready to take her back to the hospital.”

Maria looked at us and said, “Amy, thank God. You’re here. The baby is coming. I know it’s coming. And it’s coming now.”

“Mark.”, Amy said. “Get me a sheet, a warm wet facecloth, and a couple of big towels. Now!”

As Mark got up, Amy walked over to Maria and said, “Honey, do you really feel like the baby is coming?”

“Oh God yes!”, Maria said.

Amy got into a position where she could examine Maria, looked at her, and said, “You’re already dilated to 10 centimeters, and the baby has crowned. I don’t think we’ll make it to the hospital.”

Mark came back with a sheet, face cloth, and towels. Amy took them and draped the sheet over Maria’s knees to give her some modesty. Then Amy told Mark, “Call an ambulance. Tell them that Maria is about to deliver a baby and it’s not going to wait. Also, I need a shoelace and a pair of scissors.”

Just then, Larry and Kelly walked into the apartment. And Kelly said, “Oh my God. Maria’s in labor.”

“Kelly, come help me.”, Amy said. “This baby isn’t going to wait.”

Mark was quickly back and said, “The ambulance is on the way. And here’s the shoelace and scissors.” 

Then Amy said, “Mark, you need to go and coach Maria.”

Mark went to Maria’s head, comforted her, and coached her through each contraction. Larry, and I just stood there and watched Amy become nurse Amy, and run the show.

Just before the ambulance arrived, Maria delivered a baby boy. I’ll tell you this. This baby has a good set of lungs. Amy cut the shoelace it half and used it to tie off the umbilical cord, and then she cut the cord with the scissors. She cleaned the baby up a little, wrapped him in one of the towels, and helped Maria place the baby to where he could get some nourishment. He quieted right down.

I saw a smile from Maria, and Mark said, “Maria, I love you.”

I won’t go into the details of what else went on. But after Amy finished, the guys from the ambulance loaded Maria and the baby onto their gurney and headed off to the hospital. The rest of the crew got into my dad’s car and also headed to the hospital.

As we drove, Larry said, “Amy, that was impressive.”

“No.”, Amy said. “Just routine.”

“Routine?”

“Work in an emergency room, and something like that is routine.”

“I guess.”

When we were at the university's hospital, we checked in at the emergency room, and they had us go up to the maternity floor. Once we checked in there, Mark hit the payphones and made a couple of phone calls. A nurse finally came out and took Mark back to where the delivery suites are. The rest of us waited.

A short time later, Mark came back out and said that as soon as they had Maria and the baby cleaned up, that Maria would be taken to a room and the baby to the nursery. And we’d be able to see the baby and visit with Maria.

It wasn’t much later that both Maria’s parents and Mark’s parents showed up. And Mark filled them in on what had happened.

Maria’s mother looked at Amy and said, “Thank you for being there, Amy.”

“It was pure luck that we were, Mrs. Martinelli.”, Amy said. “But, it was nothing.”

“Mrs. Martinelli.”, Kelly said. “Don’t let her kid you. Watching her work told me that she is one wonderful nurse. She handled this as she does it a dozen times a day.”

“I don’t. It’s just a mindset that you get. Things need to be done, and you see that they are.”

A short time later they came and got Mark and the grandparents, and took them back to see Maria.

Kelly looked at Amy and said, “Amy, you did that just like you’ve done it before.”

“Maybe once or twice.”, Amy said with a grin. “But I usually have sterile things to use. And Maria’s labor went unusually fast.”

A little while later, a nurse came out and asked for Amy Young. Amy said, “That’s me.”

The nurse said, “The mother is asking for you.”

Amy went with the nurse, and Kelly said, “Kai, it was a good thing that you and Amy showed up when you did.”

“I think you’re right. I don’t know if Mark could have handled that all by himself.”

We chatted for a while longer, then Mark’s parents and Maria’s parents came out, and Mrs. Martinelli said, “Kai, Kelly, and Larry, Maria would like to see you.”

The three of us walked back to Maria’s room, and she had the baby with her. Maria looked at us and said, “Hi, guys. Sorry for all the confusion. And for messing up our get together.”

“Honey.”, Kelly said. “It’s no problem. It’ll give us something to talk about in our later years.”

“So, what’s the little guy’s name?”, I asked.

“Anthony Maxwell Roberts.”, Maria said.

I smiled as I said, “Remembering Max.” (Max was Mark’s twin brother who was killed in Vietnam.)

“Yes, we just had to.”

“I understand. And it is good.”

“So, why are you two in town?”, Maria asked.

I looked at Amy, and Amy said, “Well. First off, we’ve found out that we can’t have children.”

“Oh no!”, Kelly said.

“And, you’re here with my baby and me.”, Maria said. “Is … Is that too much for you?”

“Maria.”, Amy said. “Honey, it’s okay. We’ve realized that these things happen. And we’ve found that there are other things.”

“Other things?”

“Yes, we’re looking into adopting a Navajo child. And with the way we feel about the people keeping their heritage, we want the child to have a Navajo name. But, when you adopt a child, the child takes your last name. And we felt that they should have a Navajo surname. So we’re planning on legally changing our names. And we wanted to talk to our parents about it.”

“Change your names?”, Larry said. “Kind of drastic. Isn’t it?”

“Not really.”, Amy said. “If you think about it. Everyone in New Mexico and the Navajo Nation already knows Kai as Kai Nez. And most everyone, outside of the university, knows me as Ajie Nez.”

“So, that’s what you're changing your names to?”

“Yes.”

“I guess that’s not too bad.”

“But I feel bad for you not being able to have children.”, Kelly said.

“These things happen.”, I said. “You just have to learn to live with it and carry on.”

Maria looked at me and said, “Kai, Amy told me the reason. And I feel so bad for you.”

“Maria.”, I said. “Now isn’t the time to feel bad. It’s time for happiness. You have a new son.”

Amy then said, “We’d better leave Maria alone so that she can get some rest.”

“I’m going to stay with her.”, Mark said.

“We’re here through tomorrow, so we’ll see you before we leave.”, Amy said.

“You’d better.”, Maria said.

“Honey, we will.”

On our way to the parking lot, we stopped at the maternity waiting room and said so long to Maria and Mark’s parents. Then we drove back to Maria and Mark’s apartment so that Larry and Kelly could pick up their car. They followed us to one of our favorite ice cream places. After we’d gotten our ice cream, we sat outside. And as we talked, Kelly said, “I’m really sorry that you two can’t have children.”

“Kelly.”, I said. “It’s just one of those things. And we feel that by adopting a Navajo child that we’ll be helping the Navajo people a little more.”

“You two like to help people don’t you?”

“Yes, very much. And we’ll do it as long as we can.”

“Care to tell us why you can’t have children?”

I looked at Amy, and she said, “Do you remember when Tom was attacked on campus.”

“Of course.”, Larry said.

“It appears that those guys did more damage to Tom than the doctors thought.”

Larry looked at me and shook his head.

“At least I’m alive.”, I said.

“And I’m glad of that.”, Amy said.

“So are we.”, Larry said.

After we’d finished our ice cream, we made plans to get together tomorrow, and Amy and I headed back to my parent's house. And, as we pulled into the drive, I saw it again the for sale sign. Hmm.

As we walked in, we found that my mom and dad were still up, so we sat in the den with them. My mother asked how Maria was doing. I looked at Amy, smiled, and said, “She’s no longer pregnant.”

“What?”, my mother said.

“Yes, nurse Amy delivered little Tony today.”

“What!?”

And Amy went on to tell my parents the story. When she finished, my dad said, “Amy, why aren’t you a doctor?”

“Sometimes I don’t know.”, Amy said. “I know as much as some of them do. And most of that knowledge comes from working. There is a nurse-practitioner program, and when you graduate from it, you are almost like a doctor. You work under a doctor and take some of the caseload off of them.”

“That’s interesting. Are you thinking about it?”

“I have, but I don’t know. Denver is the closest place to us where it’s currently offered, and that’s too far. If they ever offered it at our university, I might consider it.”

“Still working on your doctorate in nursing?”

“Yes. I’m writing the textbook on a new course that we’ll start offering winter quarter. And that book is based on the workshop that I did. And I might use the book as part of my thesis.”

“Oh, that thing about working with native patients?”

“Yes, both the med school and the nursing school wanted something in the way of a formal class.”

“Honey.”, my mother said, looking at me, “Are you still working on your doctoral?”

With a grin, I said, “Yes, I can’t let Amy beat me.”

“I’m afraid to ask you what your thesis is on.”, my dad said to me.

Still grinning, I said, “It’s a geeky thing to do with integrated circuits.”

“I figured that it would be something like that. Have you ever heard anything more about that thing you did for the Apollo spacecraft?”

“No, and that’s not unusual. The people that we’ve done work for are very secretive. I do know that there’s a maned launch scheduled for October, and I’ll be interested in that.”

My parents went to bed before we did, so we had some time to sit on the porch like we used to. But I was quiet, and Amy asked, “What’s wrong?”

“That for sale sign out front.”, I replied.

“Yeah, I know.”

“I grew up in this house, and it’s full of a lot of memories.”

“I wish I had a house like that, but we moved around too much.”

“I know, and that for sale sign also reminds me of the one that was in your front yard before you moved away.”

Amy cuddled closer and said, “You know I have a lot of fond memories of this house too.”

“I know.”, I said. “But, now we have our own house to build memories in.”

“Very true.”

“And, you know, the talk with our parents about changing our names went better than I thought it would.”

“I know. I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting some real problems with my dad, but he was amazing.”

Later as we were cuddling together in bed after enjoying ourselves, I said, “One of my fondest memories happened in this bed.”

“Was it the first time that we made love?”, Amy asked.

“Yes.”

“It’s one of my fondest memories too. But I thought that your mom was going to kill us when she caught us.”

“I did too. But she was amazing.”

Saturday morning, we didn’t sleep in except by local time. By the time we’d gotten up, my parents had eaten breakfast, and my dad was down in his workshop, and my mother was getting ready to go to work. But she had time to sit with us while we ate breakfast. Besides, we wanted to use her car.

As we were eating our breakfast, my mother asked me something that almost made me choke on my juice. She asked, “Honey, with you changing your name, are you planning on going further?”

“Further?”, I asked.

“Becoming more of a woman?”

“Mom! No. We’re happy with what we have. There are times that I still need to be Tom.”

“What about with the child?”

“What they’ll know is Kai, the woman.”

“I hope that works for you.”

“So do we, and maybe when they’re old enough, we’ll tell them everything.”

“Be careful when and how you do it. And make sure that they’re mature enough to understand.”

“We will, mom.”, Amy said.

“Will you ever tell them that they were adopted?”, mom asked.

“Another good question. And something that we haven’t talked about yet.”

“It’s something to keep in mind.”, mom said. “And don’t be surprised if once the kids are older that they get hit with the thing about you two being lesbians.”

I looked at Amy, and she said, “That’s a good point, mom.”

“I feel that New Mexico is more liberal than they are here.”, I said.

“You may be right. But the comments that some people can make will be hurtful to the little ones.”, Mom added.

“I guess we’ll just have to be good in the way we educate the little one about things like that.”

“I think that you two would be good at doing that sort of thing.

“Now, if you want my car, you need to take me to work.”

Amy ran back to our room and came back with our purses and a package wrapped in baby paper.

My mother asked, “What’s in the package?”

“A christening blanket for Tony.”, I replied. “We’ve given one to each of our friends when they’ve had a baby. And they’re hand made out of Navajo Churro wool.”

“That’s cute.”

“And we’ve started a college trust fund for each child.”, Amy added. “It hasn’t been big, but it’s a beginning.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.”, mom said. “Come on. Kids take me to work.”

Later as we were dropping my mother off, she told us to pick her up at four. And we said that we would.

A short time later we were pulling into the visitors parking lot at the Ohio State University, after we’d parked we walked to the bookstore. I wanted to look through their technical books and see what I could find to help the research on my thesis.

Remember we were dressed as we usually were, long skirts, fancy blouses, and sneakers instead of moccasins. Our hair was in braids, both of us with single braids. And we were both wearing a simple braided leather headband. The jewelry was very light, our ever-present meteorite necklaces, a few rings, and earrings.

Even though it’s summer, there as still a lot of people on campus. And not many girls dressed as we are. So we got more notice than usual. And I heard the word hippies a couple of times but ignored the comments.

As we walked into the bookstore, which is very big, I noticed that we drew the attention of some of the clerks. Amy and I walked over to where I knew the technical books were and started looking for anything on integrated circuits. I found two that were new and that I’d never seen before. And I picked them up.

As we were going through the checkout, I asked, “Do you give faculty from other schools a discount?”

Why did I ask this? These two books weren’t cheap.

“Yes, I think we do.”, the clerk said. “Let me check.”

She called over the manager and asked her. The manager asked, “What university do you teach at?”

As I dug my wallet out of my purse, I said, “The University of New Mexico.”

Then I showed the woman my university ID card. She looked at it and said, “I don’t think that we’ve ever had anyone in here from New Mexico before.”

“We both graduated from here and are back visiting family, and I was looking for some technical books that I figured that you might have.”

The woman looked at the clerk and said, “Give her the ten percent visiting faculty discount.”

I said, “Thank you.”

“Your welcome.”

As the woman walked away, the clerk said, “We were trying to decide if you were hippies or not.”

“We’re not.”, I said. “We’re both full-blooded Navajos.”

I paid for the books, and we headed for the car. 

"We're not full-blooded Navajo.", Amy said.

"I know.", I replied. "It's easier to say that than explaining that I'm one-fourth Navajo, and you're not Navajo at all."

"Okay."

We were going to visit Maria and little Tony. The university’s hospital is on campus, but this is a big campus, and it would be a long walk, so we chose to drive.

When we walked into Maria’s room, Mark was still there, and he was the first to see us, and he said, “Good morning, you two.”

“Good morning.”, Amy and I replied almost together.

Maria looked at us and said, “Guys, I’m so happy that you were with me yesterday. You made Tony’s delivery special.”

“Every delivery is special.”, Amy said.

“I know. But this one was special because you delivered Tony. And just seeing the two of you made me feel better.”

Amy just shook her head. Then she walked over and set the gift-wrapped blanket on Maria’s lap. Maria looked at Amy and said, “What’s this?”

“Something special for the awéé’ - (baby).”, Amy replied.

“Awéé’?”, Maria asked.

“Baby.”

Maria unwrapped the package, looked at and felt the blanket, then said, “Mark, come and look at this blanket, it’s so pretty and soft.”

Mark walked over and felt the blanket and said, “That is soft.”

“It’s a handmade Navajo wool christening blanket.”, Amy said.

“That is so sweet.”, Maria said.

“We thought that Tony might like it.”

“I know that Kai can sometimes tell things. Did you know that he was going to be born while you were here? He was a week and a half early.”

“No, we didn’t know. We just brought it with us. And were going to give it to you to open when he was born.”

“You couldn't have timed that any better.”, Mark said.

The nurses brought little Tony into Maria so she could feed him. So, we said so long to Mark, Maria, and Tony. And as we were leaving, we told them that we probably wouldn’t see them again on this trip, as we had an early flight on Sunday morning. So we hugged everyone and said so long to Tony.

As we were walking back to the car, Amy asked me, “We didn’t know that Tony was going to be born while we were. Did we?”

“I didn’t.”, I said. “Why?”

“It just seemed that it was a little more than a coincidence that we just happened to be here at the right time.”

“I had no idea.”

“Okay.”

“But like mom always says, … ” And Amy finished the sentence with me “ … the Great Spirit moves in strange ways.”

We looked at each other and giggled.

We drove back to my parent's house and fixed ourselves and my dad's lunch. Then, surprise, surprise, we decided to go for a hike. Guess where? Yep. The lake trail.

After we’d cleaned up the lunch dishes, we changed into our hiking gear and headed for the park. As we parked, Amy said, “I still love it here.”

“I know.”, I said. “So do I. It’s the first place we walked together. The first place we held hands. And the first place we shared a real kiss. Plus, it's where you surprised me when you came back here for college.”

“You remember things like that. Don’t you?”

“Of course. They’re important to me.”

“They’re important to me too. So I also remember them too.”

“I figured as much.”

We, of course, hiked the lake trail until we were at the lake and sitting on our bench. And we soon had company. The immature Eagle flew in and landed on the old telephone pole. I looked at him and said, “Your mom and dad say hello.”

He squawked at us.

Then I said, “I’ll tell them that you said hello.”

Amy looked at me and asked, “Are you crazy? Talking to the Eagle that way.”

“No, but the pair of Eagles in New Mexico told me to say that to him.”

“Him?”

“Uh huh. He’s a male Eagle.”

“Kai, you’re crazy!”

“Crazy for you.”, I said as I took her in my arms and kissed her.

As we broke the kiss, Amy asked, “You didn’t bring a blanket, did you?”

“No, It’s back home in the backpack.”

She got up, grabbed my hand, and pulled me deep into the pine forest. … A while later, we were walking back down the trail towards the trailhead parking lot, and I said, “I’ll be finding pine needles for a month.”

“That’s why I was on top.”, Amy said with a sly smile.

When we were back at the house, there was a note from my dad saying that he’d gone to pick up my mom. I looked at the clock, and it was only three o’clock.

Amy’s parents were coming over for dinner at six, and we knew what my mom was going to make. So, we got started getting everything together, and while Amy worked here at the house, I ran to the store and bought what we needed to make fried ice cream.

My mother was home early, and she was happy that we’d started on dinner. I asked, “Do you think that we could invite Mark for dinner?”

“Sure, honey. We have enough, so why don’t you also invite Larry and Kelly and be sure they bring along the baby. I’d love to see him.”

“Okay. I’ll call and see.”

At six, we had a crowd at the table, Amy, me, our parents, Larry, Kelly, Mark, and the baby. Of course, baby Larry didn’t take much room but demanded attention, which he got from everyone.

After dinner, my mother and Amy’s mother volunteered to babysit little Larry, so that the rest of us could go and visit Maria. Mark drove by himself, and Larry and Kelly rode over with us.

As we walked into Maria’s room, she was feeding little Tony. After we’d said hello, Maria looked at Mark and asked, “Did you ask them?”

“No.”, Mark said. “I figured that you’d like to do it.”

“Do what?”, Amy asked.

“When do you think that you and Kai could come back?”, Maria asked.

“I don’t know. Why?”

“Well, Mark, I, and our parents talked, and we’d like you and Kai to be Tony’s godparents.”

“We're not Catholic.”

“We know. But, like with Kelly and Larry, you’re both special to us. And we’d like you to be his godparents, and our parents agree.”

Amy and I looked at each other, and I grinned as I said, “A heathen in church. Isn’t that sacrilegious?”

“Kai, come on we’re being serious.”, Maria said.

“Sorry.”, I said. “The only thing that we have going on is when Bill and Bridget come out in early August. And I think that they were planning on going back to Ohio on Sunday, the tenth. If we can move that back to Saturday, the ninth, we could fly back with them and should be able to do the christening on the tenth, and then fly home on Monday the eleventh. What do you think, honey.”

“I think that’s doable.”, Amy said. “I’ll say something to my mom and dad so they can say something to Bill and Bridget when they get back from Scotland.”

“When will they be back?”, Mark asked.

“I think it’s either Monday or Tuesday of next week. And we’ll let you know as soon as we know.”

“We just need a week's lead time.”

“Is this the same church that Larry and Kelly go to?”

“It’s St. Mary’s in German Village.”

“We go to St. Patrick's. So, it’s a different church.”

“Mark, you’ll probably have to get special permission for Amy and me to be the godparents. We had to sign a paper for little Larry.”

“We’ll get it taken care of.”, Maria said.

When we were back at the house, Amy’s parents were still there, and we told them what Mark and Maria want to do and that we may be flying back with Bill and Bridget on the ninth of August and staying two nights. Everyone was agreeable to it, and Amy’s mother said that she’d talk to Bill and Bridget as soon as they got back.

Then my mom asked, “Kai, I watched you with the baby, and you were wonderful with him.”

“Why shouldn’t I be, mom.”, I said. “I’m his godfather.”

“I know, honey. But after finding out what you found out. I was worried.”

“Mom, I’m taking it in stride. And being with the little ones both here and in New Mexico has helped. That’s why I’ve been able to talk about adopting. I know that I’ll be fine with children.”

“I’m delighted that you feel that way, honey.”

“I am too, mom.”

Sunday morning, after a very nice breakfast with our parents, we were on our way back to Albuquerque with a layover in Dallas. On the way, we talked about the adoption thing. And we decided to call Chief Clah on Monday and start the process for our name changes. On the drive from the airport to the house, we stopped at the local grocery store and picked up some groceries.

Monday morning, I went into the university, and Dr. Joe was there. After our usual greetings, Dr. Joe said, “I heard from Los Alamos this morning, and they’re going to have a project proposal for us later this week.”

“Good.”, I said. “I was going to start advertising for something to do.”

“Kai, it isn’t that bad. Is it?”

“No, I like to keep busy. I did pick up a couple of new books on integrated circuits at the bookstore at Ohio State. I was able to give them a good looking over on the flight back, and there are some interesting things in them.”

“Building your library?”

“Yeah. I’ll add them to my college books.”

“Anything else going on?”

“Well, Amy delivered our friend Maria’s baby while we were back home.”

“What?”

I told Dr. Joe, the story of the delivery of little Tony. When I finished, he was shaking his head, then I told him about our talk with our parents about changing our name. Then I said that I needed to call Chief Clah. And Dr. Joe said he’d leave me alone and get a cup of coffee.”

After Dr. Joe left the office, I walked over and sat at the desk. I took out Chief Clah’s business card and called his Albuquerque office first, and he was there.

Our conversation went like this, “Hello, Kai. How are you?”, Chief Clah said as he answered his phone.

“I’m fine, Chief. And you?”, I asked.

“I’m good. Where do things stand?”

“The talk with our parents went better than we thought it would. And they don’t have a problem with us changing our names.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“So, do you still feel that we have a good chance of adopting.”

“Yes, more so than before.”, Chief Clah said.

“Oh?”, I replied.

“I had an informal meeting with Mrs. Biakeddy, and she was amazed that you were willing to go through with changing your names so that any child would have a name that is part of their heritage.”

“That’s good to hear. And hearing that, lets put the wheels of justice in motion.”

“So, we’re going ahead with the name change?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’ve also unofficially talked with the judge that will be making the ruling. And he suggested that even though you live outside the Navajo Nation, that you can put the legal notices in the Navajo Times. And you can do that since the Times is available in Benallie County.”

“That’s interesting. And I feel better about putting it in the Times.”

“So, do you want me to do that for you?”, Chief Clah asked.

“Would you please.”, I replied.

“I’d be happy to. Let’s be sure I have everything correct. Thomas Bly Young, we’re going to change to Kai Nez. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“And, Amylin Elizabeth Young, we’re going to change to Ajie Nez. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I’ll be in Window Rock tomorrow and will get that done.”

“Let me know the dates when they’ll be published.”

“I will. And I’ll work up your petitions if you want me to?”

“We’d appreciate that. Call me if you have any questions about the petitions.”

“I’ll do that, Kai.”

“Hágoónee', Naat'áanii Clah. - (See you later, Chief Clah.)”

“Hágoónee', Kai.”

A short time later, Dr. Joe walked back into the office. He looked at me and said, “So?”

“So, what?”, I replied.

“Did you put the judicial wheels in motion?”

“Yes, as soon as we publish our intentions twice in the Navajo Times.”

“And when will that be?”

“I’ll know that when I hear back from Chief Clah.”

I headed home, and when I walked in the door, I received a wonderful welcome. Then Amy and I put together a nice lunch. And I told her about my conversation with Chief Clah. And she was excited.

That afternoon, as Amy worked on her text, I carefully went over the two books that I brought back from Ohio. And there were some very interesting things. It wasn’t just in one book or the other. But it was putting information that was in both texts together. It was an aha moment, and I actually said, “Aha!”

After dinner, it was a relaxing evening out in the back courtyard. I looked at the coffee tables, and said, “You know, Charlie outdid himself on these coffee tables.”

“I know.”, Amy said. “It was a wonderful surprise.”