Five years ago, Wanda Dench accidentally sent teen Jamal Hinton a text inviting him to Thanksgiving, sparking the most unlikely of friendships.
For the past five years, the pair have gotten together every Thanksgiving, and 2020 is no different, albeit the table, which is now is a little emptier.
Dench's husband of 43 years Lonnie passed away in April due to complications from the Coronavirus. The pair still wanted to maintain the tradition, and held a mini-Thanksgiving dinner this past Friday, in honor of Lonnie.
Dench told CNN, "I wasn't looking forward to it at first because Lonnie wasn't going to be there. The past seven months have been so difficult, but this was really important to me. I can't even explain how much joy I had, having good food with my favorite company. We laughed, we had a great time, we reminisced about the past. It was so good for all of us."
A picture of Lonnie and a candle were placed at the head of the table during dinner. Hinton said, "Lonnie was missing this year, and he was a big part of the Thanksgiving story and a big part of our lives, but that's one thing Wanda and I know for sure. Lonnie would have been very angry if we didn't have Thanksgiving together."
Via CNN
