"How can I help, sir?" asked Lizzy who was stationed at the customer service till.

"I want to ask if you have any more of the XL Lindt Easter eggs. I could not find any in the shelves," the tall, dark and handsome man explained.

"I am afraid we have sold out of them, sir. But I think we have some more of the Cadbury ones available," replied Lizzy.

"I see. There is one there right behind you. I will take that one," the man said while gesturing to the bright red box.

"Oh, I am sorry but that one is not available. It has been reserved," Lizzy replied.

Before her shift began, Lizzy had just had enough time to wander along the confectionary aisle to decide what treats to give her nephew and niece for Easter. Her sister Jane had married her university sweetheart Charles straight after finishing her education, and now they were doting parents to three-year old adorable twins. Despite her goal of limiting her expenses so she could save money to pay into her student loan, Lizzy thought to splurge on the 12-pound lush Easter egg to make up for the handmade Christmas presents she gave everyone last year. This was the most money she had ever spent on chocolate. Well, technically she had not bought it yet. She would pay for it when she did her grocery shopping after work.

"Has it been paid for?" the man continued to ask.

"Ahhh… not yet. Do you want me to get you some of the Cadbury ones, sir? They are also very popular," offered Lizzy.

"If you don't mind. Thank you," the man answered then frowned. Lizzy quickly told Megan, her young female colleague, that she would be back in a minute.

Lizzy collected one of each variety of Cadbury Easter egg and hurriedly returned to the customer service area, carefully balancing the big boxes in her arms. Why did I not get a basket?

To her horror, she witnessed her co-worker flirtatiously smiling at the man while handing over HER Easter egg to him. Nooooo!!!!

It was too late now as she saw the man complete the contactless transaction.

"Here you go, sir. We have Dairy Milk, Crème Egg, Mini Eggs, and Buttons. Would you be interested in any of these?" she tried to sound courteous but could not force out a smile.

"I will take them all," he said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, let me help you with that, sir. I will even give you a free bag, so it is easier for you to carry. Pass them to me, Lizzy," Megan said, still unashamedly batting her fake eyelashes at the well-dressed customer.

After the man put his payment card away, he smirked at Lizzy then left.

"Happy Easter, sir, and I hope you enjoy your chocolates!" Megan called out.

"Why did you sell him my Easter egg? I put that aside to give as a present. And why are you giving away free bags?" Lizzy questioned her.

"Oh, do not be silly, Lizzy. You can buy some other chocolates later. And the bag only costs 10p. He is so fit, isn't he? So gorgeous! I hope he comes back soon," Megan gushed. Lizzy just rolled her eyes as she saw no point in talking further to her colleague.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The next day was Easter Sunday. Lizzy very much looked forward to spending the day with Jane and her family. Unfortunately, by the time she had finished her work shift yesterday, there had not been much choice of Easter chocolates left in the shop. She had settled for a few bags of smaller chocolate eggs and thought she would just have to think of something creative to do with the kids.

"Jane, are you alright? You look a bit tired," said Lizzy, concerned about her sister.

"I am okay, Lizzy," said Jane but Lizzy was not convinced.

"I may not always be around, but you know I am ready to help if you need me, Jane," Lizzy reassured her.

"Thank you, Lizzy. I just get exhausted easily since… erm… well, I might as well tell you. But do not tell anyone else, okay? No one else knows," Jane replied.

"Sure. What is it?" Lizzy suddenly became curious.

"We are having another baby," Jane whispered.

"What? Oh my gosh! That is fantastic news!" Lizzy hugged her sister, then asked, "How far along are you?"

"About eight weeks, but we are waiting until after the 12-week scan before we make an announcement," Jane explained.

"I am so happy for you and Charles! Promise to tell me more later, okay? Now, take it easy. I will do all the hard work today, alright?" Lizzy said in a firm voice.

"I promised the kids we will do an Easter egg hunt. Do you think you can help with that, Lizzy?" Jane asked, acknowledging that she would not have enough energy to run around with the little ones.

"Of course, Jane! I will take care of it," Lizzy promised.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

While the kids were taking a nap, Lizzy took advantage of this quiet time to prepare the things she needed for the game. The first thing she did was to hide the mini chocolate eggs in strategic places in and out of the house. Luckily, the ones she bought were individually wrapped. Next, she made two baskets made of cardboard and decorated them using bright colours. She had everything set up and ready by the time the kids woke up. They were just about to embark on their search when a surprise visitor arrived.

"Uncle Will! Uncle Will! You have Easter eggs! Wow, they are so big!" the twins screamed excitedly.

"Will! What a welcome surprise! Why didn't you tell us you were coming today?" Charles greeted the guest with a huge grin.

What? That is William Darcy? The awful man from the shop? Who stole my Easter egg? Well, he had paid for it, but still…

William Darcy was supposedly a good friend of Charles, but mysteriously, Lizzy had never met him before. Not counting yesterday's encounter in the shop. He was originally meant to stand up as best man during the wedding, but he backed out for reasons unknown to Lizzy. She had started to believe he did not really exist as it was so improbable that they had not come across each other all these years. Jane insisted that he was a good but very busy man. Well, Jane was the type of person who would probably feel sympathy for someone who stole from her and speculate that the thief must really need the money. Anyway, back to the present…

"So you are the famous Lizzy Bennet. I've heard a lot about you," said Will after they had been introduced.

"And you are the infamous William Darcy. I've also heard a lot about you," said Lizzy, which earned a chuckle from the man.

"All good, I hope," he answered confidently.

"Hmmm... I cannot guarantee that," Lizzy retorted.

"Thank you, Uncle Will!" exclaimed Matthew, the three-year old child, and this was echoed by his twin sister Emily. Will was not really their uncle by blood, but as both Charles and Jane had no brothers, he had been awarded the honorary title.

The adults watched the twins hastily tear the Cadbury packaging and lent the occasional assistance. The kids eagerly but awkwardly bit into their respective chocolate eggs.

"Mine has a hole," said Matthew.

"Why is mine empty?" asked Emily.

"It is really made like that. It will be too hard to eat if it is all solid chocolate," Jane explained.

"Oh," the twins said, sounding disappointed, then put the cracked chocolates down.

"Do you want to eat them later, after tea?" Lizzy suggested and the children nodded in response.

"Shall we start our Easter egg adventure now?" she asked animatedly.

"Oh, yes please, Auntie Lizzy," the twins happily agreed.

"Excellent! Here are your baskets! I made them especially for you. I hope you like them," Lizzy said.

"They look cool," Matthew said.

"I like mine. I love pink," Emily said.

Lizzy then led the kids on their search for chocolate eggs, supplying them with some hints along the way. The twins looked so proud of their haul afterwards, despite the treats being tiny in size compared to what Will had given them.

"I hate to say this, Will, but you have been outdone by Lizzy," Charles laughed and patted him on the back. Lizzy overheard this remark and smirked at Will.

One-nil to Bennet!

/-/-/-/-/-/-/

That's all folks.

Someone asked for an Easter story so there you go.

Just a short one-shot between ODC, inspired by the abundance of Easter eggs in this country. Sometimes I wonder why it is so popular here. I guess because it is chocolate!

Happy Easter, everyone!