Love sneaks in and whispers to you sweetly
Silly words that change your life completely...
What's gone is what you were
What's left is all a blur
You're stung, you're stuck
If love snuck in with her
~ David Yazbek, "Love Sneaks In" – Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
xxx
Harold Hill wondered if anyone else's life had ever changed so much in the space of a single night. Four hours ago he had had every intention of going on living the same reprehensible life that he always had, hoping for a chance to seduce River City's beautiful librarian just in time to skip town with her virtue, the townspeople's money, and the children's dreams all stolen away in his pocket. It was a familiar routine, one that he had enacted over a hundred times before without the slightest pricking of his conscience whatsoever, but this time, it wasn't going to happen.
This night, everything that had been steadily changing within and without him for the past month had suddenly asserted itself, and, in a miracle worthy of the most fanciful fairy tales he had ever heard, he had been transformed and redeemed into an honest man. For in the very nick of time, he had realized that he was deeply, genuinely in love with Marian Paroo, the same way that she so honestly loved him, and that what he wanted most in life now was to be with her, to love her, and to make sure that she was never anything but happy.
And then the second miracle had happened, the other reason why he was alive, unharmed and sitting on his love's front porch right now instead of tarred and feathered and thrown into a ditch somewhere. More than just Marian had seen some good in him, the townspeople had stood up for him and demanded that he be given a second chance, and, perhaps most shockingly of all, the band had played – dreadfully, yes, but enough to save him – and, in River City at least, he was no longer considered an outlaw.
The rest of the night had been a flurry of congratulations and amazement on the part of the grateful parents, he had shaken many hands and promised that they'd get their money's worth and meant it, and despite the terrified apprehension he felt at just how he was going to pull that off, with Marian by his side (both literally and figuratively) he was confident he could do anything.
After the crowd had dispersed and all eyes were no longer on him, Harold and Marian at last managed to slip away and be alone for the first time after everything that had happened. He walked her home, her arm entwined with his, while he thanked her again and again for what she had done for him, unable to gather his thoughts long enough to say much else. Marian seemed to be having an equally difficult time expressing herself, and could only manage to expound on the theme of just how wonderful everything had become and how grateful she was to Harold in return. When they at last arrived at the Paroos' home, Harold gave up all pretense of eloquence and simply pulled Marian in for a long, lingering kiss on her front porch, not caring in the least that there was a chance that somebody might still be around to see.
"Forgive me, sweetheart," he whispered when they parted, "But I've about run dry of any words that could properly express how happy I am right now."
Marian's eyes gleamed with mingled joy and mirth. "Well, your improper demonstration was very nice indeed, so I'll forgive you." Her tone grew much more serious as she added, "You needn't doubt that I've already forgiven you for much more than that."
Harold shook his head in disbelief. He already knew this, of course, if she had known what kind of man he was and still found something in him worth loving, but it still seemed far too good to be true. "You're far too kind, Miss Marian," Harold responded soberly. "I don't deserve half of what you've given me, and never mind the rest of the town–"
"Yes, you do," Marian insisted. "If you want to know why, just look." She gestured discreetly across the lawn, and Harold followed her gaze to see what she meant. Approaching the front gate was Mrs. Paroo, positively beaming at an exuberant (and very talkative) Winthrop. When the little boy caught sight of his sister and Harold, he cried out in joy and ran up the walk, nearly jumping into Harold's arms in spite of Mrs. Paroo's admonishments.
"Why, for goodness' sake, my boy, it won't do to attack the poor man!" Mrs. Paroo cried as she followed behind her son, but her tone was laced with laughter.
Winthrop looked up at Harold with a grin that was almost enough to erase the memory of the boy's anguished tears from mere hours before. "I'm so sorry, Harold!" Winthrop exclaimed, not concerned in the least about his lisping. "I really am happy that you came to River City– really, really, happy– and now you're not going to leave, are you?"
Ruffling the boy's hair, Harold kneeled down to his level as he had done not so long ago. "Yes, Winthrop, I'm not going to leave, not ever. And there really will be a band, just like I promised–"
"And we can go fishing again? Oh– and– and whittling?" Winthrop interjected.
Harold laughed as he tried to keep up. "Of course, whenever you–"
"Hey, and you and sister are going to get married, right?"
In an instant, Mrs. Paroo had rushed up from behind and grabbed the little boy by the shoulders, sputtering "Now Winthrop, I told you not to say that!", while Marian, standing to Harold's side, let out an astonished and mortified gasp. But Harold, feeling less ruffled than he would have expected at the child's innocent question, simply winked and told him, "I think that's a question that I ought to run by her first, kid."
Flustered, Mrs. Paroo tugged Winthrop up the steps and opened the door. "Well, it's certainly been a long night, and it's well past your bedtime –"
"I'm not tired yet, Mama!" Winthrop protested.
Both Harold and Marian couldn't help but laugh as Mrs. Paroo ushered her son inside as fast as she could manage it, and the scene seemed to dissolve the tension that had overtaken Marian at her brother's boldness.
At last, Marian turned to Harold again, her face still flushed pink. "I'm sorry about what Winthrop said, Harold," she stammered, looking down at her hands as she fidgeted with the material of her shawl.
"And why would you be sorry about that, my love? You don't think it's true?"
At that, she gazed at him with such startled eyes that Harold knew that he should back off for now. So, instead of pursuing the subject any further, he sat down on the step and motioned for her to join him. Despite the late hour, he found that he couldn't just leave her with a simple "good night", not after everything that had happened.
So they ended up sitting together on the front steps of her house, just talking, all of the talking that they couldn't do before when their relationship had been all games and flirting and evasion. They sat in the corner where Marian had, mere hours before, dreamed hopelessly that they might someday sit together like this, where a little later Harold had looked into her eyes and realized for the first time just how deeply he had fallen. They were clinging a bit too close together to meet the strictures of propriety, true, but they were in their first hours as a couple, it was late enough at night that most people were no longer about, and moreover an angry mob had been attempting to lynch him in the very recent past. Harold thought their behavior was excusable.
Among other things, they got to discussing the logistics of just how they were going to make Harold into a legitimate music professor– a daunting task indeed, though Marian's musical knowledge was quite extensive.
"I don't want to put too much pressure on you," he said, stroking Marian's golden curls as he spoke. "You already work two jobs, and teaching music theory to an adult man probably isn't how you'd want to spend your free time."
Marian shook her head, her eyes wide. "I want there to be a band, Harold, for my brother's sake, for yours, for– for mine." Her gaze flicked down to her small hand clasped in Harold's larger one– he smiled and gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. "So I'm willing to do my part to make that happen." Her voice became a little quieter then, the next words coming out strained and halting. "I just wonder about you... you never meant for any of this to become real. Is this really what you want?"
A pang constricted Harold's heart– of course she still doubted him. As much as things had changed tonight, she thought his choice had been more sudden than it really had been. And he could hardly blame her for thinking that way– she couldn't have known the extent of the change in the way he'd been thinking and feeling ever since he'd come to River City, how he had been realizing for a longer time than he would admit that he would never be able to break her heart; she only knew that he had planned to con them all and then suddenly decided otherwise.
"Marian, look at me," whispered Harold, gently tilting her lovely face up to his with a finger under her chin. In their current position he found that he had to fight the urge to kiss her, but as thrilled as he was to finally be allowed to do that, kisses weren't going to help right now, so he continued on. "I don't want you worrying that I'll change my mind tomorrow, or... or ever. If I had wanted out, I had ample opportunity tonight; I wouldn't have risked being tarred and feathered if I was anything less than certain! What I want is this band, and this town, this life, and you, and I mean that with all my heart." He found his voice trembling a little bit– speaking the truth was novel and freeing, yet also a little painful, knowing that he was laying so much of himself bare to be judged. But he had to do it, he needed to, because that what she had done for him, and part of what he found so unspeakably wonderful about her.
Marian let out a little laugh then, her eyes nearly spilling over with tears of happiness. "I do believe you, Harold. I always knew when you were lying, after all, and you haven't been, not for a while now."
"It feels wonderful, not to be lying anymore," Harold exclaimed. "I had fooled myself for a long time– thought I liked it– but I was losing me." There was the feeling again, a little uncomfortable, like he was pulling the words from some deep and untouched place where they lay tangled and forgotten, but he still didn't want to stop. "Until I started falling in love with you, I had almost forgotten what it felt like to be myself. Nobody but you ever made me want to be myself, really."
"Harold," Marian sighed in delight, nestling her head against his shoulder. They spent nearly a minute in blissful silence before she spoke again. "I find it so strange that I hadn't even said your name until tonight, and now..." She paused suddenly, pursing her lips in thought. "I suppose it's not your real name, is it? Do you want me to call you Harold?"
He gave a little chuckle and tightened his arm around her shoulders, pulling her even closer. "I think it depends on how one defines a 'real name'. Is it the name that my mother gave me? Well, no, it's not. But is it my name now, and the only name I ever want to be from now on? Yes, it is."
Unspoken words flew into his mouth, and he managed to quell them before he foolishly blurted out that it was the name that he hoped to share with her someday– he didn't want to come on too strong, too fast and risk scaring her away, especially when he thought of how shocked she had been at her brother's inquiry. Besides, though Harold knew without a doubt that he wanted to marry his dear little librarian– he knew it from the moment that she and her family had begged for him to run and he had refused– he also knew that she deserved better than an awkward and rather ambiguous proposal from a man who didn't even have a home of his own yet.
Harold Hill was a man who was used to making plans, and it rather excited him that his new honest way of living would continue to afford him opportunities to do so. Now, instead of manufactured hysteria, calculated seductions, stealthy getaways and illicit profits, an entirely different set of plans for the near future raced through his mind– a legitimate business, a cozy house for the two of them (and perhaps someday, a few more, and it startled him that the idea was so appealing), a diamond ring, a perfectly crafted proposal, a joyous wedding, and a bed where they'd fall asleep in each other's arms every night... a future he would have balked at less than a month ago, but that now seemed the most beautiful thing in the world. Yes, he would give her all that and more, and they would be the happiest that two people had ever been together. Harold would make sure of it.
But for tonight, all of that lay quietly in the future, unspoken though not unthought of, and he was content to simply be with her and hold her close. After a while, her breathing grew deep and steady and Harold realized that, of course, she had fallen asleep; it was probably near to midnight. He wanted nothing more than to let himself fall asleep as well and remain in her arms on her front porch the whole night long– and what a wonder it was, that the idea of sleeping with her literally had nearly as much appeal as the figurative sense did– but besides being terribly improper, he could think of nearly a hundred impracticalities to spending the night outside on an uncomfortable wooden stoop.
So, although reluctantly, Harold nudged her awake, unable to resist lightly kissing her forehead as he did so. Her wide hazel eyes opened, blinked once in confusion, and then filled with sleepy contentment.
"I fell asleep?" Marian said with a laugh, her cheeks turning charmingly pink.
"Mm-hmm," murmured Harold, helping her to her feet and leading her to the front door. "As much as I don't want to leave you, I think you need to get some rest, Madam Librarian. As do I."
Marian nodded, suddenly shy. "Will I see you in the morning?"
Harold grinned. "I don't think you could keep me away." Leaning down, he met her lips with his, giving her at last the soft, sweet, unhurried kiss that he had dreamed of giving her for so long.
Marian kissed him back a little more shyly than she had at the footbridge, now that the urgency and desperation had gone out of their embrace, and Harold could feel her tremble a little in his arms. He resisted the powerful urge to deepen their kiss, knowing that Marian wasn't ready for such things just yet. Her innocence was incredibly charming to him– it was only a few hours ago that he had learned that the rumors of her promiscuity had been entirely fabricated, but now he could scarcely comprehend that he had ever believed such things about her. It pained him to think of how he had schemed for weeks on end to take away that innocence in exchange for nothing more than his own personal satisfaction. If– no, when, he corrected himself– he and Marian made love, he wanted to do everything properly, to wait until they were married and she was as ready and willing as he was, and neither one of them was motivated by anything but genuine desire and love.
Until then, Harold would teach her to open up, little by little, and in her own way, Marian would teach him– for although Harold had already renounced his life of crime for her, he knew he still had a long way to go before he could truly be the man that she deserved. He knew that his dear little librarian would have a lot more than music to teach him, that it would take more than one night to change a con man into an upstanding, honest citizen, but these were lessons that he was eager to take.
When they parted at last, emotion overwhelmed him, and he could find nothing else to say but "I love you."
"I love you, too," Marian whispered, softly cupping his cheek in her hand. She seemed to hesitate a moment, and Harold would have asked her what was wrong if she hadn't leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Goodnight, my someone."
She looked back self-consciously, clearly wondering if he would understand– and of course, he did. Bringing her hand to his mouth, he pressed his lips to it once before replying, "Goodnight, my love." In that moment, Marian looked at him with such radiant happiness that Harold ached to kiss her again, but he knew that he had to leave sometime. And anyway, if he had his way about it, they would have every day together and eventually every night– there would be plenty of time to talk and to kiss and to show her just how much he loved her. So he stepped back and watched her as she slipped inside before he turned and descended the steps.
His heart full of love and gratitude, Harold began the walk back to the boarding-house in silence. Tomorrow would be the first day of a new life, and with Marian by his side, Harold was finding the possibilities of all his tomorrows to be more exciting than ever.
xxx
Author's Note: Well, I did it. I actually posted something. This is the first piece of fiction that I've ever put out on the internet or even let anybody else read, ever, and I'm naturally feeling pretty nervous about it... panicky, even. It's like handing in a paper to be graded, except worse because the feedback/lack thereof could come at any time.
I've adored The Music Man (in particular the 1962 movie) ever since I played a little girl in my middle school's production seven years ago, and even then I was plotting stories for Harold and Marian's happily-ever-after. I've only attempted to actually write these stories down recently, and even then the idea of publishing them embarrassed me greatly in light of the very small and very talented fandom, so I lurked. Posting in such a small category is quite intimidating, but hopefully I was able to do the characters justice and can continue with my version of their story in the future without feeling quite so self-conscious!
Also, the quotation at the beginning of the story comes from the musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which happens to be the musical that I was in most recently!