A grandmother is spending her fifth Thanksgiving with the man she accidentally invited to dinner four years ago - and this year, they've decided to celebrate early in honor of her late husband.
Per ABC News, the unusual tradition between the two strangers first started back in 2016, when Wanda Dench thought she was texting her grandson to invite him to Thanksgiving.
However, Wanda got the phone number wrong and accidentally texted then-17-year-old Jamal Hinton.
Hinton - who was a student at the time - replied explaining to Wanda that she had got the wrong number, but joked that he could "get a plate" anyway. To his surprise, Wanda replied saying: "Of course you can. That's what grandmas do, feed everyone."
Over the last few years, the pair's friendship has blossomed, as they have spent every Thanksgiving together since.
But now, 2020 will be an emotional gathering, after Wanda lost her husband, Lonnie, earlier this year after he tested postive for Covid-19.
Refusing to let his new friend spend the holiday alone, Jamal and his girlfriend Mikaela decided to have an early celebration.
Per CBS, when the two families came together, a candle was lit next to a photograph of Lonnie as a touching tribute.
Without Lonnie - who would usually say grace before their meal - Wanda took up the task, and made an announcement at the dinner table. She said: "Thank you for all the blessings and thank you so much for having Lonnie in my life. I miss him but I know he's in a good place.
"So to everybody here, I love you and have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Amen."
Jamal later told CBS: "I would just like to say 'hi', say thank you for welcoming me into your home with open arms from day one."
Last month, Jamal shared a touching "How it started, how it's going" post on Instagram, with Lonnie smiling with the group.
Jamal later tweeted: "Thanksgiving isn’t going to be the same anymore but we will make the best of it."
Speaking to TIME last year about his dinners with Wanda and Lonnie, Jamal said: "She's a great cook and she's a great person to just hang out with. We don't watch TV or anything. We just sit at the table for a couple of hours and talk the whole time and tell stories and see how we've been.
"Time kind of just flies, we don't even realize how long we've been there. They're really good company."
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