She stepped out of the comfort and warmth of the house and into the crisp, cool winter air; her heeled grey suede boots tapping against the recently cleaned front steps. Spencer's dark brown wavy locks blew behind her as she made her way down the short, white, gravelled pathway that in summer was lined by neatly pruned rose bushes. To the right was the slightly longer newly lain concrete driveway that housed her own Mercedes and Toby's practically ancient brown Chevy truck that he insisted on keeping for 'sentimental reasons'. Swinging open the black wrought iron gate, she stepped out onto the street and started towards the collection of cafes, high class boutiques and restaurants at the heart of Rosewood.
Spencer stopped and tilted her head to the right as she turned to face the grand old DiLaurentis house. She smiled sadly as she thought back to all the times she and her friends had spent there when they were in High School; gossiping about boys, trying on each other's clothes and just revelling in the simplicity of life. That was, before Ali went missing.
She was jolted out of her memories by the buzzing of her phone, indicating that she had an incoming call. 'Hey, Ar.' she spoke into the phone, using her best friend's fond nickname, 'Spence? Hey how far away are you? Hanna's getting impatient,' came the reply over Spencer's iPhone.
'Erm... 5?' Spencer said, glancing at her watch, 'I just left home sorry, Charlie has the stomach bug so Toby offered to stay home and watch her.' she turned away from the DiLaurentis' house as Aria said a quick goodbye, and continued walking towards the Grille where Hanna, Emily and Aria were no doubt waiting at their usual table.
She supposed it was a bit silly; 4 grown women with their own families and husbands (or wife, in Emily's case) to tend to, meeting daily for lunch, but how could they not? After everything they had been through together in High School; Ali's disappearance and later on the discovery of her death, the Jenna Thing... and of course, A; The anonymous person who had threatened and bullied them over text and email for years. No, some things you just don't forget.
After a few more minutes of walking, she turned into the doorstep of the Grille; one of Rosewood's most popular restaurants. Spencer smoothed down her blue Burberry coat and entered the restaurant, the little bell above the door chiming cheerfully. 'Spence! Spencer, hey we're over here!' came a chirpy voice from the back of the Grille. Spencer rolled her eyes good naturedly, Hanna would always be the same loud, painfully oblivious but sweet person she'd been back in their teenage years.
'Hey guys – thank you Hanna, for that subtle reminder that you were in fact in the room,' Spencer greeted, while gracefully slipping into the empty chair next to Emily, who squeezed her hand as a way of saying hello. 'Geez, sorry Spence, but it's not like you to be 'unpunctual'' Hanna said in a perfect imitation of Veronica Hastings voice, getting the slightly snobby tone of Spencer's mothers voice spot on.
The 4 old friends giggled together for a minute before the waiter arrived to take their orders. Spencer and Aria both ordered the chicken-free penne pasta, and Emily and Hanna each ordered a different variation of salad. 'Okay, Han. I know why I'm getting salad,' Emily began, referring to her job as a swim coach, 'but why are you?' she asked, looking doubtfully at Hanna. 'I need to lose weight.' Hanna stated bluntly, 'since Ollie was born, I haven't been working on loosing the weight, so I need to start now,' she finished, patting her pancake flat stomach determinedly. Aria, Spencer and Emily all stared at Hanna, who, despite what she thought of herself, was almost too slim. 'Hanna! You look gorgeous, you don't have an ounce of fat on you,' Aria said with a frown on her face, 'Seriously Han, Aria's right. If anything, you need to gain weight,' Spencer added, a serious look on her face, 'Order a side as well, I'll share with you,' she said.
'Oh fine,' Hanna gave in, 'I will be really hungry if all I eat is lettuce.' she said, immediately waving over a waiter, 'Um hi, I'd like to add to my order 3 portions of cheese fries please?' Hanna requested, patiently waiting as the waiter jotted down her added order and left. 'Um, Han... 3 orders of cheese fries?' Aria asked doubtfully, 'Really?' Emily chimed in. 'Guys! There not all for me! I'll take 2 portions home for Caleb and Sophie.' Hanna explained, 'God, I'm not that greedy,' she mumbled darkly.
'How is the husband?' Spencer asked, a grin on her face, glad to leave the subject of Hanna's imaginary weight problems. 'Caleb is fine, thank you very much,' Hanna answered simply. 'Just fine? We don't get any details?!' Spencer and Aria pouted in unison. 'About what..?' Hanna replied slowly. The others all looked with disbelief at the blonde, who was twirling a curl of her hair absently, 'Hanna! You guys had your 3 year anniversary yesterday! And even though it's not exactly a massive milestone, we want to know how it went!' Emily exclaimed, exasperated with Hanna and her mysterious ways.
'Oh, that!' Hanna said breezily, trying, but not successfully, to hide her enthusiasm to share. 'And...?!' they all asked eagerly. 'Ohmygosh you guys! It was so beautiful!' Hanna burst out, 'Caleb left Sophie and Ollie at his mum's house and then he set up a candlelight dinner with romantic music and a home cooked meal with a French theme and it was so great! All of it, it was just... magical..' Hanna said happily, a faraway smile on her face. 'And you liked it?!' Aria pressed.
'Well, on the whole it was great and the chicken was really nice but the vegetables were a bit dry and burnt bu-' Hanna was cut off quickly by Aria, 'Hanna! Not the food, just the whole thing!' Aria cried, laughing at Hanna's serious expression over her complaints of the food.
'Oh, right... no, no, it was so beautiful and I absolutely loved it. I can tell he really put a lot of thought into it...' Hanna said, smiling happily. Spencer, Emily and Aria all laughed at the dopey look on Hanna's face, 'Well I'm glad, Han.' Emily said warmly, leaning back a little in her seat to allow the waiter to slide her dish in front of her. As Spencer, Emily and Aria picked up their forks, Hanna opted for the spoon lying next to her folded napkin, 'Why are there no damn mirrors in this place?' she asked indignantly, 'Do I really have to go all the way to the bathroom just to check my hair?' Hanna mulled to herself. Aria stifled a giggle as Hanna began to examine her hair in the tiny reflective surface of the silver spoon, seemingly unaware of the others watching her amusedly. 'I'm thinking about getting extensions...' she said in a neutral tone, 'I wish I hadn't chopped off all my hair. Now I can't wear berets and pretend they're only there to keep my hair in control,' Hanna sighed. Spencer raised her eyebrows and reached up to pat down her own styled chestnut waves and check that the wind hadn't made them too unruly.
'Oh god...' Hanna whispered suddenly, recognising something behind her in the distorted imagery of the spoon. The sound of footsteps moving towards them sent their 4 heads whirling round. The person stopped almost right behind Spencer's chair and rested their hands on the carved wood of her chair.
'Hello Spencer.' Wren said placidly.