Wow, so sorry that I haven't been updating regularly, I've been thinking up one-shot ideas. Anyway, here's chapter four of Those Memories! Disclaimer: I don't own MDBC or any of its characters; those all belong to its author, Heather Vogel Frederick.

Chapter Four

Cassidy's POV (as requested)

Zach instructs the voting as goes: there are couple songs, first date, favorite book we read, and wedding experiences. Of course, we all had our weddings together. I never thought I'd love Tristan Berkeley that much, but he's something special.

We are all instructed to lower our heads and cover our eyes with our arms. Tristan gets reprimanded by Simon for peeking, and we all laugh. Once a Berkeley, always a Berkeley, I always say. Grant counts the votes, and couple songs win. All the couples get together to "consult" their couple song with each other.

Darcy loudly asks if songs without lyrics are allowed, and Grant firmly shakes his head no, saying that we need to explain the songs, and lyrics will help with that.

Darcy pretends to pout and protests, "But lyrics aren't important! Every song is important! And Jess was so looking forward to the dance of the maypole maidens!"

Jess gapes at him, mouth wide open, for a split second and swats her husband's arm. "No, I don't think so. Our couple song is either Part of Your World, Kiss the Girl, or Under the Sea. We're still deciding, after all."

I start laughing, just like everyone else in the room. Grinning at Tristan, I loosen my thick red hair from its ponytail and flip my head backwards, like Ariel does when she comes out of the water. "Jealous yet, Hawthorne?" I ask.

Darcy reddens and tenses up further. "Come on, I was six years old!"

"You were a very cute, very obsessed six-year-old." Emma finally says, after laughing so long. "I still remember you dressing up as Ariel for Halloween and everything."

"And what did you dress up as for Halloween, Emma Hawthorne the noble?" Darcy says.

"Number one, it's Emma Chadwick now, and number two, I dressed up as Belle from Beauty and the Beast, a Disney character that actually matches my gender." She answers quickly. I see Darcy roll his eyes when she says "Beast", because of the play and all that.

Everyone is laughing by now, and Darcy has realized that he's not going to win this debate against his little sister, so he gives up. My book club friends are the best.

I grin widely at everyone in our book club. Who knew that a librarian, a former supermodel, and a still-crazy tofu addict could've formed something so great? I've grown to love everyone over the years, even lip-gloss-applying shopaholics like Rebecca Chadwick and bitter, stuck-up snobs like Tristan that are really just alone on the inside.

Enough with all the gooshy stuff. I stare across the room at Courtney, who's busy talking and laughing about something Grant said. Tris is trying to get Stewart's too-small coat small, and it's not working because Stewart's about average height and Tristan's about my height.

Keep in mind that Tristan and I are like towering skyscrapers compared to shorter people like Emma and Stewart Chadwick.

I smirk right at Tristan's flamenco jacket hung on the silver closet doorknob. It seems to scream "I belong to Tristan Berkeley, king of bad fashion" every time I look at it. Stewart's undersized jacket isn't helping much. Fumbling with the zipper while he talks, Tristan is desperately trying to hide his ugly black shirt that looks like a handkerchief got fused to a t-shirt by some freak accident.

Trying not to laugh is hard, and I hope my silent snickering is actually silent, and not obvious. When your husband is (attempting to) put on a jacket about three sizes too small, you don't really need an excuse to laugh at him. I think about Mom lecturing me on my manners, and I miss her again.

Our family's been super busy, what with Leo's birth and my marriage and moving and all that. I remember that Mom's with Leo, Stanley, and probably Chloe in California, though, and we'll visit her as planned in a few weeks.

Most people would've thought that famous, former supermodel Clementine would take being a grandparent as a sign of age, but, surprisingly enough, she's beyond thrilled and is slightly obsessed with showing him to us.

I can't believe that I'm an aunt, though. "Aunt Cassidy" sounds like a woman you'd find dutifully sewing handkerchiefs after the war, not somebody that's snuck goat cheese into a girl's suitcase and dressed up as a boy to get into a hockey team.

During my little blast-from-the-past, Tristan has managed to get Stewart's jacket on, but the zipper is stuck. Stuck as in, jammed like Boston's famous traffic. This time, however, it's actually jammed and isn't a bad excuse to divert my attention.

All the guys are lining up to test their strength against the Chadwick jacket. Life's never dull with Tristan around, that's for sure. That's one thing I like about him.

Tristan's really straightforward, and always speaks his mind. Like me, he rushes in and wings things. That's my philosophy; I make my own rules. Hey, growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.

Megan rolls her eyes, cuts into the line, and breaks Tristan free after a few seconds of mild tugging. Tristan looks shocked, and Simon starts clapping slowly. Darcy looks like he's about to break into laughter, while Stewart rushes over and crushes his jacket in a tight hug. Good old dorky Stew-rat never fails.

"Hey, having your own fashion line comes in handy sometimes." Megs counters. Tristan tries to play the "she-loosened-it" card, but the argument crashes like a broken paper airplane. In a rainstorm. "Good job, hon." Simon leans over and grins at her.

Simon clears his throat and announces that we have a few more minutes. Even though we've all been pretty distracted in the last fifteen minutes, nobody seems worried. I guess every couple just naturally knows this stuff about each other. I certainly what my couple song with Tristan is.

It's About the Boy by Little Mix. Courtney got me into them when we moved to Concord. We both got hooked by their relatable lyrics and how they applied perfectly. I told Tristan, too, but long after Chawton (where there was a certain kiss involved).

It goes:

He's got me up, I can't come down

He's got me locked and I don't want out

Got me running around like a love fool

Taking me down, I can't stop

He's got me good, I got it bad

He's got me feeling like a girl gone mad

I know he's playing my heart and I ain't got no choice

There's just something about the boy

You know, because I was trying to forget about Tristan and I just couldn't stop thinking about him. I couldn't stand to stick around with Zach the bad kisser.

We explain this to the eager group of book club couples, and then Courtney whisper-yells "I discovered them!" to me. Of course, I omit the stuff about Zach. Give me some credit for living with a supermodel and her clone daughter for years.

Simon frantically gives Courtney a shushing motion, and proceeds to say his couple song with Megan.

It's Back to December by Taylor Swift, which fits in perfectly because Simon broke up with Megs (and over email, of all things) in December of our sophomore year, and Simon apologized with that song.

The chorus is:

So this is me swallowing my pride

Standing in front of you

Saying I'm sorry for that night

And I go back to December all the time

It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you

Wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine

And I'd go back to December, turn around

And make it all right

I go back to December all the time

Apparently, Simon had played a prank on Tristan (involving me and a fake holiday card) and Tristan got revenge by breaking up with Megan over email (as Simon, of course; it was a hack), and then their family went to visit Ireland for winter break and Simon couldn't get signal.

He was completely oblivious because he couldn't check his email, and it took until the New Year for him to find out and message Megan back that it was a mistake.

Megs and Simon both look at each other at the same time, and start laughing. They say that people who spend a lot of time together start to act like each other, so maybe her influence is rubbing off, and vice versa.

I think the same thing is happening to all of the couples. Sure, I know that I won't be wearing spandex anytime soon, or that my sister-in-law Megan isn't taking a sudden interest in sci-fi movies or ancient architectural history like Simon.

But I can definitely tell that we're all having a big impact in each other's lives. I've noticed that Jess and Darcy both walk the same: same foot on beat after beat, left-right-left-right; same step length, so they get to the same places at the same time. Sometimes they're walking without each other, and it's still like they're marching in perfect synchronization.

It's obvious that Stewart and Emma are like twins, so there's not much improvement to be made there. Becca's become more like Zach: more reckless, more caring, and she's usually cheerful. Megan's still fashion-crazy, but you can just tell by looking at her that she's more like Simon. She's more polite, and more family-oriented. Am I more like Tristan? I can't tell, but I certainly hope so.

Even though I'd love to stay and listen to everybody's couple songs, not just the Berkeleys', I realize that it's really late and that Leo is getting fussy. Like my mom, I wrap things up quickly, and we promise to meet up in two days and continue the game and the conversation, too.

Sorry I've taken so long writing Chapter 4; I've had writer's block. Anyway, what do you think of my one-shots? Should I continue the first one? Tell me what you think in the reviews! Thanks for reading!