Juana turned to him while drying her hands on a dishcloth. “That will be perfect,hijo. Did you get the cooler, too?”
“Si, and bags of ice. I’ll bring it in a few minutes.”
“Gracias,” she said as she pecked his cheek.
Thanksgiving lunch at Camdyn’s parents’ house had been a huge event. Immediate family, extended family, and friends had gathered together to celebrate the holiday. There had been more food than the crowd could eat, and everything Juana had cooked had survived the journey to Oasis. Though the car ride had been excruciating. Three adults, a child, and a puppy inside Javi’s truck, along with a large slow cooker that Javi had rigged to a portable battery, and a multitude of carrying containers made for a cramped trip. Plus, there was the cooler in the bed of the truck.
Everything Juana had made received rave reviews. Cami’s father had claimed, “Juana’slechon asadois the best I’ve ever eaten.” And the beautiful pumpkin roll had been decimated only minutes after it had been cut, but Javi had made sure he’d gottenhim and Cami a piece. He was enjoying the post-meal socializing and regretted that he’d have to leave soon.
Six hours of round trip driving on a holiday was not fun and he wasn’t looking forward to making the drive back to Phoenix this evening. It had to be done though, because his mother was flying out of PHX tomorrow. It had been a short visit, and he hoped that she’d be able to make the trip again soon.
Javi was sitting in the den talking with Cal and the plus-one he’d brought when Camdyn walked in. He’d left her chatting with her grandmother. She smiled and took a seat next to him. Immediately, almost reflexively, he leaned over to kiss her cheek.
As was normal for him and Cal, their conversation veered to baseball. They were both passionate about the sport, and Javi had been wanting to broach a topic with Cal that he’d recently discussed with Cami, so he steered the conversation that way.
“Cal, you know I’ve done a lot of research for my dissertation, and I’ve got an idea,” he announced.
“You haven’t decided to become a professor, have you?” asked Cal.
Javi laughed. “No, I’ve got an even crazier idea. I think I’d like to start an exhibition team. I’d like to run it by you and pick your brain.”
Cal’s mouth fell open.
“Let me explain,” said Javi. He talked for several minutes about his thoughts and he could tell he’d just blown Cal’s mind. He could literally see the wheels turning in his slack-jawed friend’s head. He didn’t want to overload him with info, so he kept it brief and waited for Cal to process the revelation.
Eventually, Cal spoke. “Where would you base this team, and do you have an idea for a name?”
Well, Javi hadn’t expected that to be the first question. He’d been anticipating something about the collective bargainingagreement between the MLB and the players’ association, or how it would work with the FTC’s ban on non-competes, or some other ethical concern. Instead, the dude had cut straight to the part Javi hadn’t dwelled on. He’d done a little research, and he had some thoughts in mind, but nothing concrete yet. Leaning forward in his chair, he clasped his hands and revealed his thoughts. “I like the idea of basing it here, so I’d like to tie the name to this area. Maybe something southwestern or that plays off Oasis.”
Cal’s eyes widened, and he immediately protested. “There’s not much to draw people out this way.”
Initially, Javi had thought the same, but his research had surprised him. “Sure there is. There’s a national park nearby, and you’re on Route 66. That’s always going to be a draw. This area gets a lot of traffic. It just needs something to keep the tourists stationary longer and not following the mother road on to the next stop. Plus, half the games would be on the road. It would also financially benefit us. It would be cheaper to purchase a large area of land here than in one of the bigger cities, and we’d be hours from the closest competitor. We’d monopolize fans in this area.”
Cal nodded, and Javi was sure the guy was thinking about the many baseball teams Arizona already had—multiple spring training and minor league teams in addition to the Diamondbacks. But Oasis was hours from any of them. Cal turned towards his sister, and when Javi turned that way, he found Cami watching him. Her beautiful face rarely revealed her thoughts, but he noticed subtle changes that others probably did not, like the twinkle of interest currently in her eyes.
“Cam, do you think this is possible for us? Could we really invest in and own something like this while still playing professionally?” asked Cal.
Camdyn nodded while responding to her brother. “I’ve been researching, and I think legally you could. Javi has so many good ideas. I’ve run some hypothetical situations past a friend who specializes in labor law, but I think it’d be wise to talk with entertainment and IP attorneys, too.”
Javi hadn’t known Cami had been researching, too. He’d been sharing his dreams with her, and she’d listened, but he hadn’t known she’d been researching for him. It meant the world to him that she was that supportive of his wild ideas.
He looked back at Cal. “So, what do you say,asere? Want in?”
Callahan’s wide grin answered before he did. “Yeah, I do.”
They spent over an hour discussing possible names for the team, and lots of really good options had been thrown out, but his Cami had made the suggestion he liked best. TheOasis Gila Monstershad a ring to it. It sounded right. Javi could easily imagine the mascot, and he was already having ideas about ways to play off the wordmonsterfor marketing.
His dissertation research had taken him down many rabbit holes, and he planned to pull inspiration from everywhere—exhibition baseball, professional wrestling, roller derby, those ninja gladiator shows, and so many other places.
At some point during the conversation, Lola had come into the living room and was playing on the floor with her pup. It was while he was watching them that he happened to glance up and catch the time on a decorative clock. It was getting late. They needed to get going to get his mother back to Phoenix at a decent hour so she could get some sleep before her early morning flight.
“Lola, take Amigo out to potty. We’ve got to leave soon,” he announced as he stood. He turned to offer Cami a hand up, but she shook her head.
“I’m going to stay here. Gives you some one-on-one time, and I can help my mother with the cleanup. Lola can stay, too, if she wants,” she said.
That was a disappointing turn of events. He turned to Lola. “Do you want to go with us or stay here?”
“I want to go, but I don’t think Amigo liked that long ride. Could he stay with Cami?” she asked.
