Newlywed country couple Michael Ray and Carly Pearce planned on having a quiet Thanksgiving dinner out together at Cracker Barrel, but things took a surprising and sweet turn after they saw a stranger, 89-year-old Bill, eating dinner by himself at a neighboring table.

"We saw him sitting alone and asked if he would like to sit and have Thanksgiving dinner with us, not knowing the blessing he was going to be," Ray wrote on Instagram. "We sat and for four hours listened to Bill's 89-year story, learned about his four years servicing in the army and about his wife Alice, that passed away two years ago."

In fact, the couple talked to Bill for so long that they wound up closing down the Cracker Barrel together. "[We] learned about his love of books, the stars and classical music and so many other incredible things, until we looked around and he said 'I think we are the only ones here,'" Ray continues. "Bill eats slow, drinks his coffee black and loves ham a lot more than turkey, puts a cup holder over his coffee to keep it hot for longer and doesn't like that AT&T keeps getting more and more expensive.

"He knows a little about a lot of things, but I don't think he knows how much this meant to CP and I. We cherished every second and let him just talk," he adds.

In a social media post of her own, Pearce reflected on the time she and Ray shared with Bill, and how much it meant to her to celebrate the holiday season in such a powerful way. "Thank you God for all the blessings and for my sweet husband who loves these moments as much as I do. My heart is so full," she writes.

Ray and Pearce plan to carry on their relationship with Bill, even after the holidays come to a close. "He put so much in perspective for us both. Bill and us now have dinner plans in Jan.," Ray writes.

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