Heavenly Virtues

Part 46*

A couple of days had passed since Ashley's hospital visit, and tomorrow was Valentine's Day, and while Ashley had taken a break from wedding planning, there was something she desperately wanted to do. This is how she found herself on the phone on her break, waiting for Mary to answer the phone.

'Hello?' "Mary! It's Ashley. Are you free today?" 'Hey, uh yeah, I just got off. Don't work tomorrow, thank God. Your girl needs her sleep." Ashley chuckled, Mary, being a nurse worked crazy hours, and it was rare that she was able to do anything outside work, sleep, and eat. "I was wondering if you wanted to head to the mall after my shift. I have something I wanna pick up."

"Yeah, sure, I'll meet you there?" "Sounds good! See you then." The phone call ended with Ashley feeling the bubble of nervous excitement in her stomach. She had a vision and was so excited to make it become a reality.

Ashley got off work and hopped on a bus headed for the mall. She waited by the front entrance for Mary, and when she pulled up, they went into the mall, right to the jewelry store. The day after the twins had proposed, Ashley looked into the trinity knot and found other symbols that she grew fond of. The one she was searching for was the Celtic love knot, two trinity knots linked together, symbolizing the love that two people have for each other.

While the three of them were in a relationship, this ceremony was to link her to each of them. Therefore, it made sense to her to have the rings symbolize the love she shared with each individual man. She wanted to celebrate the link she had to them each separately. She also wanted the rings to be similar, so there would still be the link between the three.

Ashley had explained this to Mary on their way through the mall, hoping she didn't have to relay it to the jeweler. She was happy that when she mentioned the Celtic love knot to the woman behind the counter She knew what she was talking about and led the two women to a small display in the store.

It didn't take long to find what she had been looking for. She bought two matching bands engraved with the symbol, one with an internal black background and the other with an internal grey background. She held the two rings side by side and smiled at them, knowing the black one would be for Murphy and the grey for Connor.

Mary agreed, thinking the rings fit each man's personality perfectly. She bought the two rings and got them in matching little black leather boxes. She was able to have each box embossed with each twins initial

Connor's box was adorned with C.M. in the bottom right corner, and Murphys was adorned with M.M. with the same placement as Connor's. She admired the rings and got giddy as she walked out with the small boxes in a bag. Mary and Ashley spent a couple more hours at the mall, looking around before calling it quits. Mary drove Ashley home and said goodbye.

The boys were home, and from the smell of the place, one of them was trying to make dinner. "Jesus guys. What are you cooking?" The boys both looked a little disappointed as they stood around the table. "We wanted ta surprise ya wit a dinner tonigh since I gotta work late t'morrow love." "Aye, but we can't cook ta save our lives." She walked up to them, caressing their cheeks, "what did ya make?"

The boys gestured to the table where there were plates set up with burnt chicken breast, under cooked rice, and a mushy green mess that she presumed was once broccoli. She stood between them, rubbing their backs. "You guys are getting better!" She tried to encourage. "Stop." Murphy grumbled and walked to the bed, flopping on his stomach.

"How about we do it together. You two can be my little helpers." She suggested with a giggle. Connor kissed her head, "How 'bout we order in lass, it's gettin' late." She smiled and nodded. "I'll clean this up," she gestured to the food. "You two decide on something and order. That way, it's still a surprise." She smiled at them as she started scrapping the food into a garbage bag while the boys murmured about dinner. She took the bag out to the trash shoot, delaying her return so they could order.