In 2016, Wanda Dench, a 63-year-old woman, mistakenly invited Jamal Hinton, 21, to her Thanksgiving dinner.
They did not know each other at all
.
This year, they celebrated the traditional holiday in Mesa, Arizona for the fifth time in a row.
However, this fall dinner was more bittersweet than usual as there was an empty seat at the table.
After 43 years of marriage, Dench's husband, Lonnie Dench, passed away in April from complications caused by a coronavirus infection.
"At first I didn't really want to celebrate because Lonnie wasn't going to be there. The last seven months have been very difficult, but this dinner was very important to me," Dench told CNN.
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Wanda Dench (first right), Jamal Hinton (next to her) and Lonnie Dench, in a file image.
Lonnie Dench passed away in April from coronavirus.
via NBC News
"The beginning of dinner was sad. We had a picture of Lonnie on the table with a lit candle and we were shaking. But it lasted five minutes before we were ourselves again and we shared our memories of Lonnie," added Hinton, 21. years, this year he shared the celebrations with his girlfriend and the daughter of Dench's grandson, in addition to his unlikely friend.
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But how did it all start?
Dench, a grandmother of six, wanted to text her grandson to invite him to his 2016 Thanksgiving dinner, but
accidentally texted
17-year-old
Hinton
while in class.
Hinton answered the message confused, because it was not his grandmother.
However, he asked if he could still come to dinner.
"Of course you can. That's what grandmothers do ... feed everyone!" He replied.
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Without hesitation, he showed up at their house to celebrate and
the two became close friends
, to the point that he and his girlfriend were regularly meeting Dench and Lonnie.
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"
It's like we've known each other in past lives
. There is absolutely no generation gap between us. The conversation just flows, we never run out of things to talk about," Dench explained to CNN.
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They both hope to continue celebrating Thanksgiving together for many years, although this year, without Loonie, who passed away on April 5, it has felt differently.
"Lonnie would have been very angry if we hadn't gotten together," the young man recalled.
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"I didn't think I would have to go home without him. Even when I was in the hospital, I thought he would get better and come back with me. He was my soulmate," Dench told CNN.
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Hinton and Dench are still recovering from the loss and
say Lonnie's memory will live with them forever
and encourage coronavirus precautions - such as donning a mask and maintaining social distance.
"I know it's not easy. Everyone is frustrated and just wants to get back to normal. But we have to have hope and always worry about other people," Dench concluded.
With information from CNN and The New York Times.