Sweet Surprise: Birthday Cake Gesture Spreads Joy

Woman pays for all birthday cakes waiting for pickup at Rhode Island bakery in an anonymous gesture honoring her late son. WJAR's Sam Read reports.

COVENTRY, R.I. (WJAR/NBC News) — Something extra sweet happened over the weekend for a few customers at a Coventry, Rhode Island pastry shop.

Renee Smith said she went to Borrelli’s Pastry Shop Sunday to pick up a birthday cake she had pre-ordered for her son Connor, who was turning 6.

“I had put a small deposit down and went on Sunday to pick up the cake ready to pay for the remainder and when I walked in and gave my name and information she said your cake has already been paid for,” said Smith. “I’m sort of looking at her strange thinking, ‘Did I pay for the whole thing?’ I didn’t think I had and she said, ‘Well, someone had come in and said that they wanted to pay for all of the cakes.”

Liya Harrison, the assistant manager of Borrelli’s Pastry Shop, says the cakes were paid for by a woman who wanted to remain anonymous.

“She said she lost her son about a year ago and said she wanted to spread positivity by buying something for a child, like a cake or a toy, and so she decided, since she’s a loyal customer here, to buy birthday cakes,” Harrison explained. “It was really emotional. I was sad when she said it because I didn’t know what to say, but when she said she wanted to pay and help another family, that made me happy.”

Read more here.