'I got you': A stranger stepped up to pay for a man's groceries after his card declined and now the 2 are 'friends for life'

• When Jason Boudreaux's card was declined at a grocery store, he didn't anticipate making a new friend.
• The man behind him in line stepped up to pay for his groceries, the Washington Post reported.
• After finding him through Facebook, the two men are now "friends for life."

When Jason James Boudreaux's card declined at a grocery store checkout, the man standing behind him stepped up to help him out.

In a February 24 Facebook post, Boudreaux described the encounter that led him to making a new friend "for life."

Boudreaux said he had deposited his paycheck about an hour before heading to the grocery store and since he rarely deposits checks he didn't realize the funds wouldn't be available yet. Standing in line, he said hello to the man standing  behind him.

As Boudreaux, 46, tried to pay for his groceries, his card was declined, and that's when the kind stranger stepped up and said, "I got you."

"I told him, 'Hey, what are you talking about? I can't let you do that — that's too much," Boudreaux told the Washington Post. "But he insisted, and kept saying, 'I got you.' When I told him I would pay him back, he said, 'No, you don't have to.'"

Boudreaux then asked to take a photo with the stranger and later posted it to Facebook to thank and find him. He asked if anyone recognized the man.

"I thought, 'I need him to be recognized. Here's this young fellow helping an old cowboy,'" he told the Post.

A friend of his quickly recognized that the man in the photo was Kevin Jones, 28. After getting his number, Boudreaux invited him to a gathering.

"We call it 'Family Day,'" Boudreaux told the Post. "We cook up some shrimp, some crawfish, some fried catfish, and invite a bunch of friends and cousins, people of all creeds and colors. Everyone is welcome."

Jones accepted the invitation. He told the Post he decided to help Boudreaux because he's experienced the same thing.

"It can happen to anyone, and honestly, I've been in this situation before," Jones said. "I've had my card declined and had to return groceries. I didn't want him to have to go through that."

At the gathering, Jones's wife mentioned it was his 28th birthday. Boudreaux said they quickly put together a little birthday celebration.

The two strangers are now great friends.

"We're going to go fishing soon," Boudreaux told the Post. "Kevin is my brother now. We're friends for life."