Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench were introduced to each other when the Wanda sent Jamal an accidental text inviting him around for Thanksgiving dinner back in 2016.
Jamal, who was a 17-year-old student at the time, explained that she had got the wrong number and joked that he could 'get a plate' anyway to which the grandma replied: "Of course you can. That's what grandmas do, feed everyone."
That was the start of their budding relationship and the pair have gone on to celebrate every Thanksgiving. But this year things were very different after Wanda's husband, Lonnie, passed away from Covid-19.
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When the families came together this year, Lonnie was honoured at the table with a photograph and a candle.
Not wanting her to struggle on her first Thanksgiving without Lonnie, Jamal and his girlfriend Mikaela made sure she wouldn't be lonely and decided to have an early celebration.
Lonnie, who was described as Wanda's biggest cheerleader, would usually say grace before their meal and this year Wanda took on the job.
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Speaking at the dinner table, Wanda 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."
Speaking to CBS, Jamal said: "I would just like to say 'hi', say thank you for welcoming me into your home with open arms from day one."
Mr Hinton shared screenshots of their amusing and heart-warming exchange on Twitter and they went viral, receiving 138,000 likes. But what started as just a pleasant little interaction between two strangers has since blossomed into much more.
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As chance would have it, the pair live in the neighbouring Arizona cities of Phoenix and Mesa, so it was easy enough for Jamal to take Wanda up on her offer.
Speaking to TIME, he 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 realise how long we've been there. They're really good company."
Featured Image Credit: CBS
