Felt this was needed after Like Father, Like Libby. Our precious lil' green bean needs a win after that train wreck of a father-daughter reunion.
"Where is he, where is he?" Libby muttered to herself, looking at her watch. She was nervous about today for a couple of reasons.
The first reason being that it was the 18-year-old's high school graduation, which of course made her stomach do summersaults. She honestly couldn't believe she was here after all this time, ready to walk across that stage, get that diploma, and say hello to adulthood.
The next was that she was anxiously awaiting the arrival of a very special guest, one who PROMISED that he'd come. But looking at the crowd from behind the curtain, she didn't see him anywhere!
"Libster, don't worry," Andrea said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "He'll be here."
"Are you sure?" Libby asked, wringing her hands nervously. "What if he bails? He wouldn't do that, would he?"
"Heck no," Ollie spoke up as he smoothed out his graduation gown, "He's probably just running late."
"I'm sure he won't miss today," Molly said, throwing an arm around her (still taller even after all these years) best friend's shoulder as she assured her, "He promised he'd be here, and you know he's not gonna flake."
"I hope you're right," Libby said nervously, as the principal announced the ceremony would be starting in 5 minutes, so the quartet and their classmates took their seats.
Each of the teens had smiles on their faces, some excited, some nervous. As they, one by one, walked across that stage, they turned and waved to their family members out in the crowd.
When the principal finally called on her, Libby got up and made the walk. As she did, she turned and glanced out into the crowd. She saw the McGees, the Chens, the Davenports, all sitting next to her. At the end of them was Libby's mother, a huge smile on her face as she recorded. However, the seat right next to her, at the very end of the aisle…was empty.
"H…he promised," Libby whimpered to herself as she grabbed her diploma and shook the principal's hand before returning to her seat. She tried to keep up a strong façade, but her friends instantly were able to tell she was upset, and their eyes went to where her mother was sitting. They all frowned at the empty seat. From behind her, Molly reached forward and gave Libby's shoulder a comforting squeeze.
After graduation, the students and their families threw a celebration! The ceremony and the after-party were of course being held at the town's Band Shell, and it was quite the turnout. Even the Brighton citizens that didn't have kids had turned out to offer their support.
And that's why despite not having seen him during the ceremony, Libby was frantically looking around to see if he was here. But no luck.
Sighing, Libby did one last sweep of the crowd before deciding to join her friends and family for the party. As she was walking to where she had last seen her mom, she was still turning her head to look every which way, and as such walked right into someone.
"Oof," She muttered, stumbling back. She quickly began apologizing, "I am so sorry about that, I wasn't look-" before she was cut off.
"No need to apologize, Libby," Came a very familiar voice that Libby hadn't heard in years.
Looking at who she had bumped into, Libby gasped as she recognized, "Dad?"
"Hey, Sweetie," Matias said with a smile, "Sorry I missed the ceremony, got a late start on the drive over here." He then opened his arms for a hug.
Libby was in shock…for about 2 seconds before she offered a small smile and said, "No problem, Dad. Good to see you." She then reached forward at an angle, giving him a side hug as she asked, "So, how's the writing coming?"
Matias was briefly surprised by only getting a side hug, but shook his head and got his thoughts back on track as he replied, "Um, good, good. Actually got the second book of my trilogy done last month." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a copy of Chasing Miracles: Pt 2 and handed it to Libby, telling her, "Congrats on graduating, kiddo."
"Thanks, Dad," Libby said, taking the book and tucking it under his arm. It was awkward for a moment, but just as Libby was about to open her mouth to try and fill the void, her eyes glanced behind her dad…
"HE'S HERE!" She cried, causing Matias to jump in shock. Before he could ask what was going on, Libby pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it, "Molly, he's here! Start the plan!" Libby then dashed past her dad, seemingly forgetting he was even there.
Matias turned and looked at where his daughter had been looking, and saw a limo had pulled up. He then noticed a portly gentleman get out. Squinting to get a better look, Matias recognized the man as Stu Brunson, Brighton's mayor.
He raised an eyebrow as he saw his daughter sprint up to the mayor, practically bouncing with excitement. At that moment, a girl with pink hair made her way to him, holding a bouquet of roses and a heart-shaped box of chocolates, which she forced into the mayor's arms. The girl then began pushing him while Libby grabbed his shoulder and started dragging him through the crowd.
Watching their direction, Matias saw they were being led to the main stage, where he noticed his ex-wife Leah being pulled along by a young man and woman, both in graduation gowns and caps.
Curiosity peeked, Matias began maneuvering through the crowd to find out what was going on.
Mayor Brunson sighed as he stepped out of his limo. He had wanted to watch the graduation ceremony, even promised to be there, but an urgent call had come up, and it had taken him longer to take care of it than he had wanted. At the very least, he was there for the after-party.
"Mayor Brunson!"
Stu looked up to see Libby making her way to him, an eager look on her face, and the reality of what he was about to do came crashing down on him, and he practically turned into a sprinkler with his sweat.
Something Libby noticed as she got up to him. Offering a sympathetic smile, she asked, "Nervous?"
"Of course I am," He stated, pulling his collar out and fanning himself with his hand, "I shouldn't be doing this. This is YOUR special night. Besides, she's not gonna say yes."
"Oh yes she will," Libby's friend and fellow Wilder Scout Kat spoke up, as she appeared with flowers and a box of chocolates.
Stu face palmed as he muttered, "I forgot the essentials."
"That's why we thought to have some back-ups," Kat said, handing the mayor the romantic items, as Libby began pulling him into the crowd. Kat got behind them and began pushing the mayor, wanting to make sure he didn't get nervous and run off.
As the trio entered the crowd, Stu's nervous sweating increased as he saw her: Leah Stein-Torres, being led in his direction by Libby's friends Molly and Ollie.
Leah had been helping herself to the buffet table that had been set up when Molly and her boyfriend Ollie popped up, telling her they had something really important to show her. Though reluctant to leave all the goodies, Leah complied (though not like she had a choice, as each teen grabbed one of her wrists and began pulling her along).
Andrea and Sheela began gently guiding people back to give some room. Luckily most people complied absent-mindedly, not even wondering what was going on. A few, including the families of the gang, looked over, but for the most part what was about to happen wouldn't be a show.
Leah's eyes raised when she saw her daughter dragging HIM towards her. She and Stu locked eyes, both extremely nervous as they realized what was going on.
Back when Libby and the gang had started high school, Leah had decided to make her daughter's favorite dish for dinner, so she made a quick trip to the grocery store to get the ingredients. While turning a corner, she accidentally rammed her cart into another person's cart.
Stu had been doing some shopping of his own when his cart was struck, causing him to let out a girlish shriek of surprise. Quickly regaining his composure, he assured the lady who hit him it was no problem, only to go wide-eyed when he looked at her.
He instantly thought Leah was the prettiest woman he had ever seen, and was at a loss for words as she asked if he was ok. Due to being a decent mayor in a small town, Stu knew a lot of the citizens, and was pretty sure Leah was a librarian, but didn't know her personally.
Clearing his throat, he quickly accepted her apology for hitting his cart before hurrying off, much to her confusion.
After that day, Stu had been smitten. He quickly looked up any book-related business in town to find out where this beautiful woman worked, and quickly realized it was Book Marks the Spot! He psyched himself up for DAYS (making sure to keep up his mayoral duties, of course) before "accidentally" tossing an old copy of one of his books in his fireplace. He then headed to Leah's book store to pick up a new copy.
Upon arriving, he was told they didn't have it, but Leah said she could order it and it would be there by the end of the week. Stu thanked her, and managed to make small talk with Leah as she typed in the order on the computer.
Unknown to Stu at the time, while he thought he had been a stuttering mess who had made a fool of himself, Leah had been taken with his kindness and friendly attitude. While not instantly smitten with him as he was with her, a spark had been ignited in the single mother.
After Stu's book came in, he continued to visit the store, he and Leah growing closer. And Libby noticed pretty quickly what was going on. Oh, there was a SLIVER of worry that her mother would get hurt again (as well as jealousy over having to "share" her mom with someone else), but ultimately Libby thought about all her mother had done for her over the years, and decided to give her mom her blessing.
Leah had done the classic "nervous laughter denial" when Libby confronted her about her crush on the mayor, but Libby remained astute, assuring her mother that it was fine if she wanted to date.
It took a couple months of denial, but ultimately Leah decided to take a chance. The next time Stu came into the store to place an order on a book (he had really been getting back into reading in his spare time), Leah asked him out for coffee, to which he enthusiastically said yes.
The 2 dated for a while, becoming the talk of the town. Then came Libby's accident.
Libby had been on an overnight camping trip with the Wilder Scouts, likely the last one for the season before it got too cold. She had been eager to finally get her birdwatching patch, and had been climbing a tree to check out what she believed to be the nest of a rather rare bird she needed to catalog…when one of the branches snapped.
Leah had actually been on a date with Stu when she got the call from Sharon (who had gone along as the chaperone) telling her that Libby was in the hospital with a broken arm and leg. Needless to say, she freaked out. Thankfully Stu managed to get her calmed down enough to explain what happened, and then had a police escort for his limo as they made their way to the hospital, him comforting the distraught mother the whole while.
When they got there, Libby actually APOLOGIZED for ruining her mother's date, which Leah said was pure nonsense as she hugged her daughter's good side as tight as she could while smothering her forehead with kisses.
Luckily Leah had decent insurance, but she still knew it was gonna be tough. Not only would she have to take care of Libby, she'd have to run the store alone for a while. After spending the night at the hospital worrying, she ultimately made a decision.
When Stu came to visit the next day, Leah took him outside and told him that her plate was about to become overloaded, and that she just didn't think a relationship at the moment was possible (it had already been a little hard to work with her busy schedule). Stu was heartbroken, but completely understood. He gave her one last kiss on the cheek, which she returned, before wishing her the best and leaving.
Leah let a couple tears fall as she watched him go, but steeled herself and headed back into her daughter's room…
Where she was promptly chewed out by Libby for not allowing herself to be happy just because of a couple bumps in the road. Leah took the words in stride, before explaining that she needed to take care of her daughter, and a relationship just wasn't something she could take the time for presently.
Libby frowned, but calmed down before asking, "What if you didn't HAVE to take care of me?" Before Leah could say that was a completely irrelevant thought, Libby asked her mom in a small voice to just THINK over the question. Sighing, Leah thought for a moment, before acknowledging that if she didn't have to take care of Libby, she would gladly continue her relationship with Stu.
That was all Libby needed to hear.
First, she got her friends to talk to the school board, who acknowledged that volunteer work around town WAS required for graduating, but it hadn't been enforced in a few years. Naturally Molly made it mandatory again, meaning Leah had help around the shop while Libby was recovering. Andrea also took a page out of Molly's dad Pete's book and used her social media accounts to convince her Fan-dreas to do more community work.
Next came setting everything up in the long term. Obviously Libby knew her mom would take this incident as a sign that she needed to focus on herself and her daughter, so she made sure to plan while counting down the days…
Libby had volunteered at the mayor's office for her senior year, and had hinted at what her mother had said about dating. Stu may have been a bit bumbling at times, but he got what Libby was hinting at. He tried to say it had been too long, that surely the spark had gone out, only for Libby to ask him how he felt about her mother.
"I haven't stopped thinking about her since the day we broke up," He had admitted with melancholy.
As such, Libby and her friends began setting everything up, making sure that Stu would arrive at the graduation ceremony, when Libby was no longer a kid and thus didn't need her mother to take care of her anymore, and reunite with Leah. They told him to bring flowers, but each of the group figured he'd be so nervous that he'd forget that part, and as such planned for it.
And that's how we got to a nervous Stu holding out a bouquet of roses and box of chocolates to a shocked Leah while at Libby's high school graduation.
Libby and her friends were eagerly watching the scene with vigor, each hoping the adorable relationship would be restarted. As Libby watched her mother take the flowers, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Forcing herself to be polite to whomever was trying to get her attention, she turned around to face her dad.
"Oh, Dad," She chuckled, "Sorry about that. Got distracted, forgot you were here."
Matias frowned at that, but quickly flashed a small smile as he said, "No worries, kiddo. Um, ya mind telling me what's got you so excited?" He asked in a way that didn't SOUND like prying into the private business of his ex-wife, who was now chatting with the mayor.
Turning back to the scene in front of her, Libby gave her dad the rundown on Leah and Stu's relationship, including why it ended and how Libby and her friends had set things up for it to be reignited today.
"You…you were in the hospital?" Matias asked in shock, "Your mother never told me that."
Libby casually shrugged, still watching the mayor and her mother as she replied, "She was really busy at the time. In addition to having to take care of me, that was when the expansion started."
"Expansion?" Matias asked, raising an eyebrow.
Absent-mindedly, Libby explained, "A couple years ago, our neighbors moved, and a SpaceBucks coffee shop opened in the building. Due to the natural appeal of drinking coffee with a good book, our business boomed. Then one day, some drunk driver drove right in between our buildings, crumbling the walls. Luckily they were able to be repaired, but the SpaceBuck's manager apparently won the lottery and booked it. The regional manager of SpaceBucks approached Mom and asked her if she'd be interested in a partnership, so the walls were torn down, and the SpaceBucks and Book Marks the Spot! became one business, with Mom owning one and being manager of the other, pretty much working both jobs at once."
"Is that legal?" Matias asked, trying to take in everything he'd heard.
"In most cases no," Libby said, "But we got everything situated with the bank and our tax advisor, so we're all good. At one point some jerk IRS agent tried to audit Mom, but he…changed his mind." She let out a dark chuckle at that, recalling how Scratch had paid the man a visit and threatened to haunt him till the day he died unless he cancelled the audit. Scratch would later admit while he still couldn't recall too much from his life, he knew he ALWAYS hated people in power who tried to "bully" people like Leah who were completely innocently just trying to take advantage of a situation to give them and their loved ones a better life.
Matias got a concerned look at the almost evil sounding chuckle coming from his daughter, but shook his head as he processed everything, muttering, "So your mom's business has been booming, AND she's got a new relationship. That's…nice."
"It really is!" Libby gushed, "After everything she's done for me, she deserves to be happy, and I know Stu is gonna treat her right."
"Good, good for her," Matias said with a curt nod, before clearing his throat and stating, "So, I'm gonna be in town for a couple days. Wanna get lunch together tomorrow? Maybe make it a father-daughter day?"
"Ooh," Libby winced, "Sorry, Dad, but I'm actually gonna be leaving in about an hour."
"Leaving?" Matias asked, surprised, "Where are you going?"
"Andrea – she's the girl with the bright blue hair – her dad decided to splurge on a graduation gift," Libby explained, "He rented us a nice lake house at Lake Wakota for 2 weeks."
"But Lake Wakota is a couple states away," Matias pointed out, "You're not gonna get there tonight."
"MOLLY!" Libby called out, and said girl instantly appeared beside her. Libby did the quick greeting, "Molly, my dad. Dad, Molly." As the 2 shook hands, Libby asked, "Molly, ya mind showing him the plan?"
Molly grinned eagerly and pulled out a physical MAP. She opened it and held it in front of her so Matias could see as she explained, "Our friend Sheela's uncle owns a motel on the edge of the state, and he's agreed to set aside a couple rooms for us tonight. We figure if we leave in the next hour, we'll get there by around 10ish. Then we'll leave right after breakfast." As she said this, Libby traced the route they were gonna follow with her finger. "We'll get to this nice little town called Cheyenne around lunch; apparently they have over a dozen independent restaurants, so we'll grab a bite to eat. Then we'll continue on, and get to the lake house by dinner time."
"Oh," Matias said, a little surprised, but forced a smile on his face as he said, "Good to see you've got it all planned out."
"They learned from the best," A man with red hair and stubble said, appearing behind the girls and placing a hand on each of their shoulders. Matias instantly thought the worst of this clearly middle-aged man touching his daughter. Before he could try to go "papa wolf" on the guy, he took his hand off of Libby's shoulder and shot it forward, introducing himself as, "Pete McGee, Molly's father."
"Um…Matias Torres, Libby's father," Matias replied, shaking Pete's hand.
Pete then looked at the girls (no longer having to look down at them due to both being close to his eye-level) and asked, "You girls got everything for the trip?"
"You know it, Dad," Molly said brightly, giving a salute.
Pete chuckled at that, before asking, "And you remember what I taught you, right?"
"You know it, Mr. McGee!" Libby said with a smile, "We'll be fine out there!"
"I'm sorry," Matias spoke up, "What did you "teach" my daughter?"
Oblivious to the somewhat hostile tone in Matias's voice, Pete smiled as he replied, "Oh, since Leah was so busy with the book shop becoming a joint coffee shop, I stepped up to teach Libby how to drive."
"It was a big help," Libby said with a smile directed at Pete, "He taught me all the basics, and even more. I know how to change a flat tire, use jumper cables to start a dead battery, and even change oil."
"We all do," Molly added, "My dad just taught me and Libby, but he wanted to make sure all 6 of us knew all of that for the trip."
"Gotcha," Matias replied with a nod at Pete, "Well, thank you for helping my daughter in that area."
"Anytime!" Pete said with a smile, "Heck, Libby is almost like another daughter to me."
"And you've been a great father figure to me, Mr. McGee," Libby said with a smile. She then turned back to her dad and stated, "So anyway, I'm gonna be leaving soon, so can't do that father-daughter day. But you're welcome to hang out at the party."
"Sure," Matias replied with a small smile, "We can spend a bit of time catching up and-"
"LIBBY, MOLLY!" Kat called from a little way away, "You gotta come see what Brett learned to do with his foot!"
"Oh boy," Libby chuckled, "This is gonna be hilarious." She and Molly then took off. As they headed towards their friends, they passed by Stu and Leah, who were acting like a couple of lovestruck middle school kids as they talked.
Pete stated it was nice to meet Matias, before heading off to his family, leaving the single man alone.
Matias spent the next hour wandering around, trying to find his daughter to talk to her, but it always seemed she was busy with friends or teachers or neighbors. As he walked around, he thought over what all he had heard and seen:
Leah was now running a successful coffee shop/book store, and was going to be resuming her relationship with the mayor.
Libby, meanwhile, saw her best friend's dad as a father figure after he had taught her some basic life skills that dads usually teach their kids. And now she'd be getting ANOTHER father figure in the form of Stu.
As he walked past the buffet table, Matias paused, spotting his book. He knew it was the copy he gave to Libby, as it wasn't due to be released for another week. He looked around, wondering if she had maybe set it down for just a moment, but didn't see her anywhere around where it was sitting. He picked it up and was gonna go looking for her when he noticed Leah, Stu, and that Pete fellow, along with a few other people, near the road.
Making his way through the crowd, Matias saw 2 cars pull up, each with the very backs full, and even some supplies tied to the top.
In the pink minivan was that Andrea girl at the wheel, along with the pink haired girl who gave the mayor the flowers and chocolates in shotgun and an Indian girl in the back (Matias guessed one of them was probably Sheela) and in a black minivan was Molly at the wheel, with a boy beside her, and Libby in the backseat.
Parents were all wishing them safe travels, along with last minute forehead kisses (much to most of their embarrassment) and going over lists to make sure they had everything, with the teens assuring their families they'd be fine.
"Call me when you get there, you little matchmaker," Leah said as she smothered Libby's forehead in kisses.
"Ok, Mom," Libby said with a giggle. She was embarrassed like the others, but had always been close to her mom and as such was taking the smothering love in pride. At that moment, Matias made his way to the front of the crowd, and Libby smiled when she saw the book. "Oh, Dad, thanks. I wondered where I put that." She reached out and took the book, before turning back to him and telling him, "Sorry we can't do our father-daughter day tomorrow. Next time you're gonna be in town, maybe call a week in advance, and we'll be able to get together."
"Oh, sure, sure," Matias said, reaching forward for a hug, only for Libby to duck back into the window and declare, "Let's get this show on the road!"
The teens all cheered, and after some more goodbyes, both minivans pulled away from the curb, the occupants waving as they drove off.
As the rest of the families decided to go back to enjoying the party a little more, Leah told Stu she'd catch up with him in a few minutes. Stu was concerned, especially by the edgy tone in her voice.
After the cars were out, Matias sighed and turned away, not sure how to feel about this…only to yelp as he saw his ex-wife looking at him with a cold glare.
"So…" Leah said, her casual tone not matching her glare, "You and Libby were planning a father-daughter day, huh? Don't recall her saying anything about that in the last couple weeks."
"Oh, uh, I just got here about an hour ago," Matias said nervously, "That's when I brought it up."
"OOOOOHH!" Leah made a show of sounding big and surprised at that, "That makes sense, then. Right, right, makes sense." She nodded simply at that, and Matias sighed in relief, having thought he was about to get blown up at that.
And just as he thought that, Leah was in his face, their noses less than an inch apart. He yelped again as she growled, "So let me see if I get this straight: when Libby is a CHILD who wants to spend some time with you, you can't be bothered because you wanna write your book! And THEN when she's in middle school, your excuse is that you're turning your book into a trilogy. Oh, and let's not forget that during that particular incident, you made me drive her through TWO STATES for what was essentially a 5-minute visit, which ended with you making up excuses about why you couldn't spend more time with her." Leah then stepped back and laughed like a maniac, gathering some attention, but thankfully not from everyone in attendance. Her friends and Stu, however, noticed and made their way over.
Once she was done with her laugh, Leah, her voice now raised significantly, continued, "But now that Libby is an ADULT who doesn't really NEED her parents in her life, you decide to show up and try to bond with her. How wonderful of you!"
Matias winced at that. He meekly tried to defend himself by stating, "I…I've been busy. I just figured now would be a good time to get to know each other a little better, ya know?"
The glare Leah was giving him now could have tamed a lion. Stu reached over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, Leah stated, "Matias, I can't tell you what to do. And Libby is an adult now. Even though she's still living under my roof, I can't really tell her what to do either. But I'm going to ask you to do one thing that needs to be done."
At that, Leah's shoulders slumped, the fire seemingly extinguished as she asked, "Please stay away from Libby. You had all this time to be a father, when she NEEDED you, and you didn't care. Coming back into her life now that she's getting ready to take that next step, it…it isn't fair to her. I don't think you're a heartless monster, so if you REALLY care about her, don't play these games anymore. Just leave. Send her a copy of your third book in the mail if you must, but don't just randomly pop into her life like this. It's gonna give her so many mixed feelings that she doesn't need to deal with. If she wants you to be a part of her life, that's fine, but you're the parent, you're supposed to be there for her, not have her be there for you whenever you feel like making an appearance."
Despite the giant crowd around them, it seemed quiet as the McGees, Chens, Davenports, Sheela and Kat's families, and Stu stared between the 2 parents, none really sure what to say (but all of them mentally agreeing with Leah).
Matias opened his mouth to try to come up with some sort of defense…only to come up with nothing. He knew Leah was right. He hadn't been there before, so why was he "allowed" to be there now? The answer was…he wasn't.
"Ok," He sighed, sounding defeated, "I'll…leave Libby alone unless she reaches out to me. G…good to see you again, Leah." At that, Matias turned and headed to the buffet table, grabbing a soda from one of the coolers before making his way to his car.
As he pulled out of the parking lot, Matias looked in the rearview mirror. He just so happened to catch sight of Leah and Stu dancing together, a smile on his ex-wife's face. He sighed again, recalling when she used to look at him like that.
"But it wasn't enough for me, was it?" He muttered to himself, before getting onto the street and heading off, somewhat poetically in the opposite direction his daughter and her friends had driven in.
As he drove out of town, Matias was truly grasping just how much he had, and how much he had lost. How much he had given up. All for his stupid book. And honestly, Matias wasn't stupid.
He could tell, he could understand that while Leah had been furious with him, Libby…didn't care. She clearly wasn't wary of him or anything, but he recalled that day 5 years ago when they had reunited, how she had looked at him like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Now she was looking at him like she was at a family reunion and he was that distant uncle she had met once or twice who was awkwardly trying to make small talk.
And he had only himself to blame.
So, I wanted Matias to really acknowledge that he screwed up. I kinda liked the idea that while he IS selfish, he's not completely heartless. However, this means he's arrogant. He figured he could leave to do his own thing, then come back to his daughter and ex-wife and pick up right where they all left off. But no, obviously Libby and Leah moved forward, had their own lives. And between the 2 of them, I figured it would be Leah who would be the one to bluntly tell him this, as Libby is too sweet and innocent to really hold a grudge. But because she's always seemed sorta wise beyond her years, she'd understand by this point that her father wasn't really interested in having any sort of relationship with her. As such, this time around, it's daughter who gives father the brush-off.
For Leah and Stu, I figured in addition to her business booming, a new relationship would both be good for her AND show Matias what else, who else he had lost.
Also, I'm a couple episodes behind, so I'm AWARE of Davenport's in Demise, but haven't seen it. So maybe Mr. Davenport can't afford to rent a beach house for his daughter and her friends, I don't know. This fic was just meant to be a "sequel" of sorts to LFLL without taking too much else into consideration.