Erika Brett approached the checkout counter inside the Family Dollar in Palmerton on Sunday fully prepared to pay for the items she was about to purchase.

Only this time, much to her delight, Brett didn’t have to because they were on the house, courtesy of a good Samaritan.

“I went up to the cashier, and she started ringing up my items, but I realized that what I had come for wasn’t there,” Brett said. “I came back up, took out my debit card, and the cashier let me know the gentleman who was behind me had given her $20, and also gave another $20 to the other cashier.

“I’m not sure who that lucky person was who received the other money, but I was pretty excited to receive mine.”

Brett, who along with her husband recently bought a home in Palmerton, said she was shopping for others.

“My sister-in-law, my nephew and my niece are visiting from Colorado and I was getting her some snacks and (them) face masks with coloring markers,” she said.

Brett posted her experience on Facebook.

“I’m not sure who the gentleman was who paid for my items at Family Dollar just now, but I was certainly blown away by his kindness and generosity,” Brett said.

She didn’t make it to the parking lot fast enough to thank him, but she hopes he saw the post.

“If so, thank you so very much … you made my day! I will be paying it forward,” Brett said.

Brett said she likes to shop at Family Dollar “for little odds and ends.”

“They have a great staff, always very friendly,” she said. “(The store) is always very clean.”

Brett said she would have returned the favor to someone else if she would have had cash on her.

“As soon as I have cash, I will return to the store and pay it forward,” she said. “I never have been on the receiving end of that.”