What are you willing to do to help a total stranger in trouble?
Jason James Boudreaux and Kevin Jones’ friendship began at a grocery store when Jason’s debit card got declined at the checkout counter, and Kevin, a then stranger, stepped up to pay for his groceries.
Jason, 46, claimed he deposited his paycheck an hour before going to the grocery store, but since he rarely deposits checks, he did not know the money would not be accessible right away.
While waiting in line, he looked at the young man behind him and greeted him with a “hello.”
Then his turn to the checkout counter comes.
He handed in his debit card, but much to his surprise, it was declined due to insufficient funds.
Then the man behind him stepped up.
“I got your back,” the young man said.
“I told him, ‘Hey, what are you talking about? I can’t let you do that — that’s too much,'” Jason told The Washington Post, adding that the young man insisted on paying for his groceries.
“When I told him I would pay him back, he said, ‘No, you don’t have to,'” Jason continued.
Jason said that he wanted to pay the young man, but he got so excited with his act of kindness he did not even get the young man’s name.
“I mean, I was a detective. I should have been with my pen and paper asking, ‘What’s your name? What’s your number?'” Jason tells TODAY.com. “But I just had what you call goosebumps, but it’s ‘frissons’ in French.”
So, Jason asked to take a photo with the stranger and later posted it on Facebook to find him and thank him.
“Much respect for this young gentleman,” Jason wrote, explaining his experience with the kind stranger.
“New Iberia, help me recognize this gentleman,” he added.
His friend recognized the young man as 28-year-old Kevin Jones.
He also got Kevin’s number and invited him to a gathering.
“We call it ‘Family Day,'” he said, stating that they cooked a lot of food and invited everyone, including friends and cousins.
Kevin accepted James’ invitation.
According to Kevin, he helped James because he experienced the same thing.
“It can happen to anyone, and honestly, I’ve been in this situation before,” Jones said, adding that he has experienced having his debit card declined, and he had to return the groceries.
“I didn’t want him to have to go through that,” he continued.
Kevin also said that after paying for Jason’s groceries, he moved on with his day without expecting anything back.
He also said he did not tell his wife about what he did.
However, Jason’s Facebook post and some calls and messages about a man who wants to return a favor reached him.
“Just a whole lot in one day,” Kevin said, laughing.
Meanwhile, Kevin and Marissa attended the party.
Jason learned the day was Kevin’s birthday, so they quickly assembled a little birthday celebration by improvising a “cake” to commemorate the big day.
“He had a jelly doughnut with icing on top, and he put a candle in it,” Kevin said, smiling.
Kevin was surprised when all the ladies, including his wife, came out singing “Happy Birthday.”
Since that day, Jason and Kevin, who were strangers at the grocery store’s checkout counter, became brothers.
After the gathering, the new brothers said they keep in touch through text, planning weekend outings and Family Days.
Kevin added that Jason invites him to his fishing spot and wants him to come over every Sunday with his family.
Jason said that Kevin is one of the sincerest souls he has ever met, and he has met many.
“I live by a motto: ‘If I got it, you got it,'” Kevin said. “Doesn’t matter your color, doesn’t matter to me. We brothers and sisters from different people.”
Everything, indeed, has a reason.
Jason’s trouble with his debit card paved the way for him to meet his new brother Kevin, whose kindness changed his outlook on the world.
It’s also noteworthy to add that Jason and Kevin have created a GoFundMe account NOT for themselves, all donations will go to people in need.
Here’s what’s posted on the fundraising site:
“I’m Jason James Boudreaux and I met Kevin Jones two weeks ago at a grocery store and he did what no person would do and paid my groceries. We are now brothers and family. We spoke about a go fund laughingly. All monies will be donated to those in need. Trust me I don’t lie. I love this man and his family. He doesn’t want a dime nor do I, we just want to pass it along.”
Watch their beautiful Family Day below.