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Erlich anxiously adjusted the Christmas decorations on the mantle, making sure they’re perfect.
Monica walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling her chin against his upper arm. “I don’t think your friends are going to judge the decorations.”
“I know that,” he said defensively. “If anything, I’d be offended if they liked them because those guys have no taste.”
“Okay,” Monica said with a little laugh. “You just seem a little nervous. Maybe because you haven’t seen everyone in a while.”
“Not at all,” he said. “I’m going to finish sprinkling cinnamon on the egg nog.”
The doorbell rang and Monica answered it. She grinned at Dinesh and Gilfoyle. “Hey, guys, thanks for coming. Erlich’s just in the kitchen.” She held her arms open for a hug, but they walked past her into the house.
“Holy shit,” Gilfoyle said. “This place looks so different.”
“Yeah, it actually seems hospitable to human life,” Dinesh said as he looked around. “I mean, the smell alone.”
“Hello, gentleman,” Erlich said. He walked in, carrying a tray of eggnog. “Thank you for the compliments on my home. It’s certainly much roomier these days. That’s for sure.”
Gilfoyle grabbed a cup of eggnog and quickly chugged half of it, then wiped his beard clean with his sleeve. He looked around. “Your Christmas decorations are surprisingly tasteful.”
“Thank you, but these are non-denominational holiday decorations,” Erlich said. “Respecting everyone.”
“Literally all this stuff is Christmas-related,” Dinesh told him as he inspected a creepy looking angel figurine.
When the doorbell rang, Erlich jumped. “That must be Richard.” He quickly set the eggnog down.
He grinned when he opened the door. “Richie!” He pulled Richard into a hug, lifting him off his feet and spinning him around. He set him down and gave Jared a polite nod. “Jared.”
“It’s so nice to see you,” Jared said, grinning at Erlich as he and Richard walked inside.
“Yeah, man, I’m really glad we’re all doing this,” Richard told him. He grinned at Monica, then pulled her into a hug. He nodded at Dinesh and Gilfoyle. “Guys.”
“Hey,” Gilfoyle said. “You should have an eggnog. They’re very high in rum.”
“Oh. Cool,” Richard said. He looked at the tray on the table. “Oh, there’s only two left. Monica, were you going to…”
“Oh, I’m not having any,” Monica said. She touched her stomach and smiled at Erlich.
He smiled back at her and wrapped his arm around her.
“Oh my gosh. You’re pregnant?!” Jared asked, beaming at her.
Monica grinned back at him and nodded. Jared hugged her. “Congratulations.”
“Congratulations. That’s amazing,” Richard told her.
“Yeah, congratulations,” Dinesh said.
Gilfoyle nodded. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, Erlich, but I think you might not be a terrible father.”
Erlich beamed proudly. “Thank you, everyone. Let’s open some gifts!”
They all took seats near the tree.
As Gilfoyle sat down on Dinesh’s lap, he pulled a small wrapped box out of his jacket pocket.
Dinesh looked at him with surprise. “What’s this?”
“Well, you can find that out by opening it, dumbass,” Gilfoyle told him before gently kissing his neck.
Dinesh unwrapped the box and popped it open. His jaw dropped when he saw the silver ring with black diamonds. “Is this what I think it is?”
Jared looked over with interest and squealed when he saw what was happening. He excitedly nudged Richard.
“Get down on your knee,” Dinesh said.
“No fucking way,” Gilfoyle said. “So. What’s your answer?”
“It’s ‘yes’, obviously,” Dinesh said. “Help me get this thing on.”
Gilfoyle slid the ring on and then looked into Dinesh’s eyes admiringly. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Dinesh told him before gently kissing him.
“Well,” Erlich said, standing up. “This momentous occasion calls for more eggnog.”
“I can’t believe all our friends are having kids and getting married,” Richard told Jared. He sat in the passenger seat while Jared drove, drumming his fingers on the dashboard.
“It’s beautiful,” Jared said. “I might tear up again talking about it.”
“It’s weird Gilfoyle proposed at a party, right? Aren’t you not supposed to propose in front of someone’s friends. I mean, what if he’d wanted to say no?” Richard asked as he kept drumming on the dashboard in front of himself.
“Well, they’d probably talked about it enough that it wasn’t a complete surprise,” Jared said. “You know, when you start to get serious you should discuss what you want in that regard. For instance, I wouldn’t want you to propose in a restaurant—” He stopped talking when he noticed how tense Richard looked. He quickly said, “But, we don’t have to talk about that stuff yet. It’s still early.”
“We’ve been together as long as Dinesh and Gilfoyle,” Richard murmured defensively.
“They’re different,” Jared said.
“What do you mean?” Richard asked.
“They’re very passionate,” Jared said, smiling a little as he thought about his friends’ relationship.
“Oh, what, and we’re not passionate? You don’t think we’re passionate?” Richard asked.
Jared frowned. “No, I— do you want to talk about engagement, Richard?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Sorry. It’s just weird. It’s so much. It’s like stuff is happening all the time. Everyone is moving forward and hitting these milestones.”
Jared pulled into the garage and parked. He pulled his key out of the ignition and then looked at Richard, really staring into his eyes. “Richard,” he said. “I don’t know if I say this enough, but everything in our lives right now is perfect.”
“You really think so?” Richard asked.
“If nothing ever changes for us, I would be more than happy with that,” Jared told him.
“Thank you,” Richard said. He gently kissed him. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Jared said.
As Richard stepped out of the car, he asked, “Hey, why would you not want to be proposed to in a restaurant?”
“I’m terrified there’ll be another couple there that’ll feel bad about their own relationship,” Jared told him. He took Richard’s hand as they walked into their house.