At first, Nick DeClemente didn’t understand why the woman at the bakery counter wanted to pay for a stranger’s cake.
As Fox News reported, DeClemente works at a Publix grocery store in Jacksonville, Florida. Last week, he was startled when a woman walked up to him in the bakery section and asked whether there were any first birthday cakes scheduled to be picked up that weekend.
A lady just came up to the bakery counter and asked if we had any 1st birthday cakes on order for Saturday or Sunday. …
Posted by Nick DeClemente on Wednesday, October 10, 2018
As DeClemente wrote on Facebook, he asked for a name, thinking that the woman was trying to find the cake for a specific person. That’s when she told the Publix employee, “No, I want to pay for one anonymously”:
She then started to tear up and tell me that she had a stillborn child a year ago and in tribute to him she wanted to pay for someone else’s cake.
“I was a little lost for words just because of how in awe I was of the moment,” DeClemente told Fox News.
He looked through the outstanding orders and found a large sheet cake with a Sesame Street design that had been ordered for the first birthday of a boy named “David.” The 20-serving cake was $32.99, and the woman paid for it before thanking DeClemente.
“She told meThank you,’ and appreciated that I let her do this,” he wrote. “It was probably one of the most touching things I’ve seen in all my years working in retail.”
DeClemente said he thanked the woman as well, telling her it made his day, especially because he is expecting a son.
“I hope that this lady finds peace through this tribute and that the customer receiving this gift will, if nothing else, pay it forward,” he wrote.
As the story spread, many people shared their own thoughts on DeClemente’s Facebook page, expressing how moved they were by her gesture.
DeClemente told Fox News that he hopes he’ll see the woman again so he can tell her about the response to his post.
“I think it’s a beautiful testimony to the strength of so many women,” he said. “It’s brought about awareness, and I can only hope it continues.”
One of the women who commented on DeClemente’s post claimed to be David’s mom — the recipient of the gift cake. She wrote that she was sorry for the woman’s loss and grateful for her generosity, adding, “I was really surprised when I picked up the cake and tried to pay for it and was told it was already paid for. That was a real blessing.”