EDIT: PLEASE NOTE THAT I WROTE THIS BEFORE THE SEASON 2 FINALE. THEREFORE, I DID NOT KNOW THAT MONA WAS A. PLEASE DONT LET THAT SOUR UR TASTE FOR MY STORY ;) JUST ENJOY IT LIKE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN WITHOUT MONA BEING A. THANKS! :) - AJ

Epilogue:

"Slow down, Cath!" Beatriz Donnelley shouted to her big sister, her little legs hurrying to keep up as they scurried through the field of grass.

"Hurry up, Bea!" Cath shouted, looking over her shoulder for a second to peer at her sister. She stopped by a large oak tree and reached for the branch, beginning to hoist herself upward.

"Be careful girls!" Their mother, Mona Vanderwaal-Donnelley smiled at them from their picnic blanket further along the pasture. The Donnelley family had discovered this lovely stretch of grass and trees not too far from their summer home on Myrtle Beach. It was a lot filled with beautiful vegetation, just like the town Mona had grown up in.

"We will!" They girls shouted back as they once more reached for the tree.

Mona grinned back and returned to the novel she brought – With Love, Spencer by a new bestselling author, Spencer Hastings-Cavanaugh. She had known the author well in high school, and Spencer had even helped Mona overcome a breakup with a serious boyfriend, but they had fallen out of touch after senior year. Last that she had heard of her, she had transferred to Hollis. After all these years, Mona could hardly even remember the sound of Spencer's voice.

Of course, things had turned out exceptionally well for Mona, too. She had graduated high school with a clean reputation. The words of support Spencer had given her, way back in junior year had really gotten to her. It made her believe that there was life outside boys and shopping. So, she went to college in Southern California, just like she had always dreamed, and went on to become a fashion designer. She met her husband, Richard Donnelley, at a fashion show – little did she know that he was the manager of a rival clothing line. Their Romeo and Juliet romance had been a challenge during the first two and a half years, but they had decided that love was more important than work, and combined their two companies to create Vanderwaal-Donnelley Designs. It had been a hit and Richard shortly after proposed, which led to a beautiful wedding in Oahu. Hanna Marin had been her maid of honor – still her best friend through all of the years. Following the wedding, Mona discovered that she was pregnant with a girl, whom she had named Catherine Hanna, and then three years later she gave birth to little Beatriz 'Bea' Elizabeth. She and Hanna had fallen out of touch as well, since she was no longer living in Rosewood, but she made a mental note to call her once they got back home to their house in San Diego. They had bought a summer home in Myrtle Beach and spent every July there since the birth of the children.

"Hey. There you are." Richard smiled, settling beside her on the blanket and kissing her cheek. "The girls look like they're having fun."

"They are. How was your conference call?"

"Fine. How are you doing?"

"Great. Really. There's something magical about this place, you know?"

Richard smiled and nodded. "I know what you mean. What do you have there?" He asked, gesturing to her book.

"Oh, just a great new book – it's a huge bestseller. I actually knew the author in high school. I always knew she would amount to something big. That girl made Einstein look stupid."

"Oh really? What makes this one so much better than the Nicholas Sparks books you love so much?" Richard teased.

"I don't know. I think I remember the guy she's writing about, though. It's been forever but I don't think I really trust him at the time but…it sure seems like she did. She disguised the name, but it's pretty obvious. And her new married name sounds all too familiar. I'll have to look her up when I get home. But the story is a collection of letters she wrote to him and the story of how they met and their journey together. It's really beautiful." Mona smiled, dog-earring the page. "Alright, let's get to work on that chicken salad – it's going to get mushy."

"Your wish is my command." Richard grinned and reached for the picnic basket.

"Hey! Look at this!" Cath trilled. Her little nine-year-old legs were wrapped around the trunk of the tree.

"What is it, Cath?" Bea asked. Her voice lisped due to the fact that she had just lost her first tooth – first one in her Kindergarten class to lose one, in fact, which she was very proud of.

"It's an engraving. It looks like two names." Cath traced the letters with her fingertips. They looked old, the moss growing around them, and the tree itself was worn away.

"Toby…and…Spencer." Bea read, coming around the side of the tree to read it.

"And look," Cath said, her fingers finding a much newer carving outlining the names. "It's a heart. And it looks newer."

"Maybe they forgot it and came back to make sure they put it there. How romantic!" Bea exclaimed with her gap-toothed smile.

"I bet that they had a complicated love – like Jasmine and Aladin!" Cath said wistfully. She was at the age of princesses and Jasmine was her favorite.

"I bet her parents wanted her to be with someone else!" Bea chimed in, going along with the story of the poor street-rat and the beautiful princess.

"But she loved him!" Cath continued with an enthusiastic grin.

"Oh, that's so romantic, Cath!" Bea gripped the low branch of the tree and pulled herself onto the dip of the branch. "We are going to write a story about them!"

"And I bet they ended up getting married, no matter what her parents said. I bet that they lived happily ever after." Cath sighed, a faraway look in her eye. "We are going to have love like that one day, Bea. We are going to meet a handsome prince and live in a beautiful palace. Well, a prince or a lawyer." She smiled to her sister as she sat in the grass, her back against the tree.

"What's a lawyer?" Bea asked.

"I don't really know. But Mommy says that I should marry one."

Bea giggled and grinned. She cocked her head to the side. "I hope I marry someone like the guy whose name is carved on the tree."

"Bea! Cath! Lunchtime!" Mona called to the two.

"Let's go!" Bea slid down from the tree and they both took off for the picnic blanket.

Mona handed her daughters plates full of fruit and PB&J. They smiled as they gleefully took the food and began to eat.

Mona took a sip of her iced tea before opening her book once more, this time to the dedication page out of pure curiosity.

"Hey, no reading during family lunch!" Richard teased, batting at the book.

Mona held it out of his reach. "I just want to see how Spencer ended up!" She smiled. She tried to call attention to the girl to tell them to chew with their mouths shut, but they were too engulfed in their conversation about princesses and mermaids to notice her voice. Mona smiled and rolled her eyes before turning back to her husband. "Wouldn't you be curious?" She asked.

"I guess so. Read it aloud. I want to hear."

"I'm just seeing if she dedicated it to anyone that I know."

"So read it anyway."

And so she did.

She read the words.

And they began with Dear Toby.

Dear Toby,

"That book in many's eyes doth share the glory

That in gold clasps locks in the golden story."

-Romeo and Juliet

I dedicate this book to you, for more than just the obvious reasons. You are not only love, my inspiration, my muse, and my partner for life, but you made me believe in the impossible: you made me believe in love. You made me see that love only has value if you are willing to fight for it. And so through every moment for the rest of our lives together, I will fight through the hardships, because with a past like ours, there will be many. But it's all okay as long as I get to have you be my side, as long as I get to keep you forever. I'm not much of a romantic, as you have probably gathered, but I hope that this book is the start of my journey of being a hopeless romantic. Every moment with you has been a dream come true, and I know that we will have many beautiful moments in the years to come. Thank you for being there for me always, even if it was only to beat me at Scrabble. I remember my hope that one day we would be remembered as the love that lasted through the sorrows. Now, we are.

With Love,

Spencer

so, here lies the end of a path of a romeo and juliet romance i have been walking on since late 2011. wow. sigh. thank you, everyone! (ps: expect the author's note next ch ;) )

i always thought that darling mona should have a happy ending ;) wow. 15 years later, and spencer truly becomes a romantic ;) juliet would be so proud.

live. love. spoby.

-AJ