Chapter 74

The guys showed up around 7 that night. Pearl was thankful Rhys invited them, Dylan had no family and Blake's lived in California and were a bit estranged. John and Janie didn't have kids and they had already done their family thing and Tony's family was kind of like Pearl's. There where there, but not. Pearl knew she would have to tell her parents about the engagement sooner or later but she hated the anxiety that came with speaking to them, so she was putting it off as long as possible. 

They all brought a dish and Pearl walked out to the guesthouse and dragged Jim inside to hang out with them, too. Dylan put his arm around Jim and said, "Save some room on the couch for me." And winked. Jim looked thrilled. Pearl told them the bat story and Jim, once again, didn't think it was funny. 

Their ugly sweaters were hideous. Blake's said "Jingle my Bells" and had two low hanging bells that landed right at his pants zipper. They toasted to the album and to Rhys, who made i