A/N — for Rebecca-in-Blue, because she asked and I was thinking about her this week. xoxo — kals
x
Milly rocked Hannah in the dark room, enjoying a few minutes of quiet as the six-month-old drifted off to sleep. Now that Hannah was old enough to sit on her own without tumbling over, she was happier on the floor by Milly's feet, playing with the set of wood blocks that Adam carved or the ragdoll that Milly made. But as much as Milly was relieved to have a few moments to get some chores done, she also missed those summer days when Hannah wanted nothing more than to cuddle up to her mama. Still, as Adam would point out whenever Milly got a bit blue about Hannah growing up so quick, the Pontipee brothers were each just a year apart, so chances were that they were going to be having another one right quick. Milly herself was hoping for a little more time between the babes. With about half the brothers and their brides expecting new little ones in the spring and summer, there was going to be plenty to do without having a new one of her own to manage.
Adam appeared in the doorway to their room and Milly glanced up with a smile. He smiled back, the gesture brightening his usual solemn expression until Milly's breath caught. For all that happened with the girls last fall, Adam was a good man. Milly knew from the beginning that Adam was a good brother, trying his best to do right by the boys, and she never doubted that he would be a good father to their little girl. But since his return from the hunting cabin last June, Milly had found that Adam was also a good husband, trying his best to make up for the mistakes he made. Over the summer and fall, Adam was so busy, first helping his brothers build their own cabins and then bringing in the harvest, that there were days when the only time Milly saw Adam was when he fell into bed. It was only after the first snow that Milly learned Adam could whittle. They spent many happy nights by the fire, Milly mending while Adam carved alphabet blocks for Hannah, starting with the first letter of her name, H.
Milly was expecting Adam to sit and pull off his boots but, instead, he reached for her hand. Surprised by the gesture, Adam wasn't one for hand holding, Millie let him tug her out of the rocker, still cradling the baby. "What about Hannah?"
"She can come too," Adam replied, voice gruff.
Puzzled, Milly followed Adam past the family room where the fire was banked and through the kitchen, onto the front porch. She was about to protest that Hannah was too little to be out in the cold, when Adam stepped back through the door to pick up a blanket that he wrapped around both of them. She gazed at him, puzzled. "What are we doing out here?"
Adam scuffed his feet, not quite meeting his eyes, the way he did when he was feeling something and didn't want to admit it. Just like a little boy, Milly though. "Adam?"
"When we were little, Ma used to bring us out here on the New Year. She grew up in a town down south and when she was a little girl, all the churches would ring their bells at midnight. Ring out the old and ring in the new, she used to say." Adam raised his hand and Milly saw the bell that he was holding for the first time. "We never made it to midnight, but she always brought us out here after the sun went down. Ma would ring the bell and tell us that tomorrow was a new day without any mistakes."
"The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived," Milly murmured. "2 Corinthians 5:17."
She thought about all the mistakes that Adam had made, and all the work he did to make up for those mistakes. Ring out the old and ring in the new. Shifting Hannah onto one arm, Milly reached out a hand to touch the cool metal. "Was this your Ma's bell?" At Adam's nod, Milly felt her eyes mist up. Adam didn't talk about his Ma much. Probably didn't remember much of her, not even being ten when she died, but this memory was clearly special. "Well, I think that's a lovely tradition, Adam Pontipee. Are you going to ring that bell?"
He lifted the bell, stopped for a moment, and Milly wondered if he was thinking about his Ma. Then he shook the bell three times in a row. "Out with the old." He ran it again three more times. "In with the new."
They stood, silently, as the twinkle of the bell faded into the night. Then Hannah began fussing, either from the noise of the bell or some cold air seeping into her blanket. Adam opened the door, waiting until Milly and Hannah were inside before pulling off the blanket and folding it and placing it back in the chest where it belonged. They walked upstairs together, where Milly returned to the rocker and Adam sat on the bed to pull off his boots. It took only a few minutes to settle Hannah into her cradle, and then Milly slipped into bed beside her husband, a feeling of peace inside her as she thought about the year ahead. A new year, one that was starting fresh without any mistakes.
With Adam here by her side.