Rumors Start To Spread

So now we get into how the rumors about Marian and Mr. Madison begin to be spread around River City... let's see what drama unfolds here. Also for the sake of this story I have made Alma Marian Ethel and Maud friends. In the play I don't think they were friends... though perhaps when they were younger they could have been.

The following fall Winthrop started preschool. His speech was slow and steady and he met with his therapist two afternoons a week. The Paroos were very happy that their son was on the right track.

Marian could hardly believe she was a senior. She wondered where four years of high school had gone in a blur.

"Marian you're so lucky that you have a job already. We have to start looking for them once school ends for the year." Alma said

Marian looked at Ethel. "Couldn't your uncle see if he could get you a job at livery stable teaching lessons?"

Ethel crinkled her nose. "You know as well as I do that I don't like riding horses Marian."

"You're really good with kids though. You do such a great job when you come over to help take care of Winthrop."

Ethel shrugged. "I'll see what kinds of openings he's got available. I could always help him in the office too."

"Marian you're really good at playing the piano have you considered giving the kids in town lessons?" Maud asked

"No, I've never considered that. We could use a little extra money in our house. Daddy is going to retire in two years and Mama works at home taking care of us."

"Would you consider that?"

Marian grinned. "Yes, I think I would seriously consider it."

"How's Winthrop doing in school?" Maud asked

"Good. He seems to really like preschool. He was shy at first but now he seems to making a few friends."

"Is he still having trouble talking?"

Marian shook her head. "No and we are so grateful for that. He does struggle a lot with saying some words with the letter S in then. He has a slight lisp. Other than that he speaks very clearly.."

"Has Mr. Madison come to visit lately?" Alma asked

Marian shook her head. "He's coming to visit for Christmas. I actually want to go to New York to see him instead. I love seeing the Christmas lights in Central Park."

"Isn't he retired?"

Marian nodded. "Yeah. Daddy said he's planning on selling his house in New York and moving to River City in the spring. He really has nothing tying him down to living in New York and we're practically like family to him."

"He's not married with kids of his own?" Ethel seemed shocked by this.

"Nope. He never got married. He's always told me that marriage isn't for everyone but he hopes I find the perfect man to marry someday."

Mr. Madison moved to River City in mid March and bought a condo right up the street from the Paroos house. Marian would go over his house every day after working at the library to spend time with him and practice the piano.

"Uncle Maddy, my friends suggested I should teach piano in addition to working at the library. Do you think that's a good idea?"

Mr. Madison grinned. "I think that's a fine idea sweetheart! You've really come a long way in your playing. You're such a great help to your parents taking care of your brother and I think you'd be an excellent teacher."

"But how will I be able to manage two jobs at once?"

"You can always teach the children in the afternoons and then work at the library in the evenings or pick up some more hours on the weekends."

"That's logical."

In the summer Marian decided to put an ad in the newspaper saying she would be giving piano lessons beginning in September. She would charges $10 an hour and give lessons 3 days a week from 12:30-4:30 and then work at the library after dinner from 6:30-9:30. The advertisement resulted in quite a few students for Marian and they told their friends what a wonderful teacher Marian was. At the end of the year her students gave a recital for their parents at the River City Community Center up the road from the Madison Public Library. Marian was very happy with herself that her first season as a piano teacher went off without a hitch.

Things stated to change rapidly for Marian's social life too. She found herself seeing herself spending less and less time with her friends because she was so busy working. A year passed since they graduated from high school and then two. One summer day they were sitting on Ethel's back porch sipping lemonade.

Alma looked at Marian nervously.

"What's wrong?" Marian asked her friend.

Alma looked at Maud and Ethel and then sighed.

"Marian do you realize people all over town have been spreading nasty rumors about you and Mr. Madison?"

Marian was completely shocked. "What are you talking about?"

" People see you come in and out of Mr. Madison's house every evening and they're very suspicious of what you do."

Marian laughed. "Suspicious... what could possibly make them suspicious?"

Maud said... "Well Mr. Madison is a lot older than us... he could practically be our father you know."

Marian's jaw dropped. "They can't possibly think there's anything romantic going on between us? "

"Well, we can see why they would think that. I mean you are almost 21 and still single. All three of us have started to date." Ethel pointed out.

"This is preposterous! True love does take time. I haven't found the right man for me yet... it will take quite awhile. The three of you know as well as I do that Uncle Maddy is practically a member of my family though he is not a blood relative."

Alma nodded. "Of course we know that."

"Hopefully you three have been sticking up for me."

"Trust me, we've been trying." Maud said

Ethel nodded. "We certainly have. No one seems to want to believe us though."

"Have you thought of at least going out with us sometime? Who knows you could meet someone." Maud said.

"While we admire your work ethic a great deal Marian you do need some time to yourself to have fun." Ethel said. Alma and Maud nodded their heads in agreement.

"The boys in this town are so stuck up. How do you know any of them will even like me?"

"You have to give people a chance Marian... you never really did that in high school you know and there were so many nice boys in our grade." Maud said.

"The VFW always have karaoke nights. You should come with us on Saturday night. It will be fun." Ethel suggested.

Marian sighed. "Alright. Anything to get this silly rumor to stop."

The VFW hall was crammed with people.

"Do you see any boys we know?" Maud asked

"Not yet but I'm sure there must be a lot of people here." Ethel said

Roy Samuelson came over to them.

"Hey ladies. Come sit with us. A bunch of us are sitting right over there. Roy pointed to a long table off the side of the dance floor.

"Do you come here a lot Roy?" Maud asked.

"Yup. We're here every weekend. This is your first time?"

"4th actually. It's Marian's first though." Ethel said.

"This is a lot of fun Marian. You'll have a blast!" Roy said.

Marian recognized a few familiar faces from her high school class including Jennie and Myrtle Richardson who were twin sisters. They had both been in Marian's English class their senior year at River City High."

"Hey Marian! How are things at the library?" Jennie asked.

"Great, thanks. It certainly keeps me on my toes. I'm teaching piano lessons now too."

"That's great. We heard the rumors about you and Mr. Madison. They aren't true are they?" Myrtle asked.

"Of course not! I want to give who ever started this rumor a piece of my mind." Marian said.

"Well that's certainly comforting to know. Are you dating anyone Marian?"

Marian shook her head "No. I'm really in no rush to be in a relationship right now. The right man for me will come around for me when he wants to."

Three years passed and there was still no love in sight for Marian. Mrs. Paroo was noticing that most of Marian's friends were in relationships and she seemed to be the odd person out.

"Marian darling how come you haven't met any boys yet? Ethel Maud and Alma seem to have met great men… Maud is even getting married in a few months."

Marian rolled her eyes. "I'm in no rush to get in a relationship Mama. Uncle Maddy always says it takes a long time to find true love."

"How would he know anything about that? He was never married."

"True but he is very wise nonetheless. I want to have the kind of love like you and Papa have. It's going to take me awhile to find the right type of man."

"You can't be too particular about the type of man you date or you'll never find anyone."

Marian sighed "Please don't rush me Mama. I'll know when the time is right to date someone."

That spring Mr. Paroo became very ill. He was 10 years older than Mrs. Paroo so he was in his mid 60s. Nobody knew what kind of disease that he had but it caused him to decline very rapidly. The chores picked up around the house and Mr. Madison and Marian were helping out as much of they could while Mrs. Paroo cared for her ailing husband. Winthrop was 6 years old by this time and had no clue what was going on. All he knew was that his father was very sick.

He tugged at Marian's arm.

" Sither, what's wrong with Papa?"

"He's been very ill. We don't know what kind of disease he has."

"Ith he going to die?"

"Eventually. We're not sure how soon though."

From this point forward Mrs. Paroo seemed to noticed that Winthrop seemed to regress back into the way his speech had been four years before. When his therapist came over one day she pulled him aside.

"I find it concerning that Winthrop seems to be regressing. Why is this happening?"

"The therapist shrugged. "I don't know Ma'am. Your husband is ill I understand."

Mrs. Paroo nodded. "Yes, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Maybe the illness could be causing him stress and he doesn't know to process it very well."

"He was practically mute before he started to have therapy."

The therapist nodded. "I take it this must be a stressful time for all of you. Have you considered going to therapy as a whole family?"

Mrs. Paroo shook her head "Our bills are very tight right now so I'm not sure how possible that would be."

" I have a friend who is a family therapist who makes house calls. I'll recommend him to you. He does wonderful work!"

Mrs. Paroo smiled. "Thank you! We appreciate that very much."

Mrs. Paroo Marian and Mr. Madison met with the harpist twice a week. Marian decided to also mention the rumors people were spreading about her and Mr. Madison up at the therapy session as well.

"How long have these rumors been going on?"

"About a year. They're only getting worse now that everyone in town knows Daddy is sick and Uncle Maddy is here all the time helping us."

"How does that make you feel Marian?"

Marian sighed. "Frustrated. I wish the rumors would stop because they have really been upsetting me.

Mr. Madison squeezed her hand. " Sweetheart don't listen to what those foolish people say. They don't know anything about how special our relationship is."

The therapist faced Mrs. Paroo. "Catherine how long would you estimate your husband has left to live?"

Mrs. Paroo shrugged. " We don't really know... probably about 6 months maybe a little less."

"Are you going to have a funeral for him? I understand you folks are tight on money."

Mrs. Paroo shook her head. "We don't have the money for an expensive funeral so we're going to have him cremated."

"Your son seems to have the most trouble understanding all of this?"

Tears started to form at the edges of Mrs. Paroo's eyes. "Yes sir. Winthrop was born with a speech disorder and didn't learn to talk until he was 2 and a half. He speaks with a slight lisp but now he barely seems to want to talk to any of us. We're very concernec."

"Have you tried to talk to him and explain to him how ill your husband is and that he might die soon?"

Mrs. Paroo shook her head. "No."

"That's something I recommend you do and see how he would react to the news.

Marian interjected. "Winthrop is well aware about the fact that Papa could die sooner rather than later."

"How does he feel about that?"

Marian shrugged. "I don't think he understands it. Nonetheless he has seemed very upset recently."

Mr. Paroo passed away in late January. It was a very sad time for the Paroos. Mr. Paroos parents and sister flew into Iowa from Massachusetts to spend time with Mrs. Paroo Marian and Winthrop. When they arrived Marian threw her arms around her grandmother.

"Oh Grandma I can't believe Papa's gone!"

Julianne Paroo kissed the top of her granddaughter's head softly.

"I know darling. Please know he is in a happier place now and not suffering anymore."

Winthrop hung back.

"Winthrop honey say hello to Grandma." Mrs. Paroo said

Winthrop walked over to his grandmother and kissed her cheek.

"Hello my sweet boy."

James Paroo looked worriedly at his daughter in law. "How long do you suppose he'll be going through this phase of not speaking to anyone?"

Mrs. Paroo shook her head. "We don't know. It's very concerning to us. We never expected him to regress. He hasn't said a word to Humphrey, Marian or I since Edward passed on."

Mr. Madison took Mr. Paroo's hand in a firm handshake. "Jim, I'm sorry for your loss. This is truly a tragedy for you all."

"Thank you Humphrey. You were always such a great friend to Ed. Julie and I are happy that that two of you stayed friends through the years. You've been a great help to Catherine in the past couple months."

Ethel Alma and Maud came to the funeral services for Mr. Paroo. When they saw their friend they wrapped her in hug.

"Marian we're so sorry about you dad." Maud said

"Yeah, he was the best. He was like a second father to all of us." Alma said.

"It won't be the same without him around." Ethel said

"Thanks you guys. It's going to be so hard to not have him around anymore. It's going to be hard... it's been the hardest for Winthrop I think."

A boy tapped Ethel on the shoulder. "Ethel can I get you a drink?"

"Water would be great. Thanks Marcellus. Marian have you met my boyfriend Marcellus yet?"

Marian shook her head. "It's nice to meet you. Sorry it has to be under these terrible circumstances."

Marcellus put an arm around Marian. "I'm so sorry about your father Marian. Ethel and I are always here for you whatever you need."

Marcellus walked away to get Ethel a glass of water.

"How did you meet him?" Marian asked.

My uncle hired him to work at the hotel next to livery stable. He's one of our bell hops. He's new to town. Just moved here from Chicago."

"He seems like a nice boy. I'm happy for you." Marian smiled at her friend.

"Thanks. We hope you find someone to date soon too so we can all go out together," Maud said.

"Well the right man hasn't come for me yet. I'm still waiting, Patience always pays off you know." Marian said.

"How much longer do you suppose you're going to wait? We're not getting any younger you know." Alma said.

Marian shrugged. "As I said I'm not going to rush things. "

Ethel Maud and Alma all exchanged a glance between them but didn't say anything.

Mrs. Paroo came up behind Ethel and gave her a squeeze.

"We're sorry about Mr. Paroo." Ethel said.

"It will be a struggle for us all but us Paroos always persevere. You girls have always been such wonderful friends to Marian."

"We love you Mrs. Paroo." Alma said.

"I love the three of you very much." Mrs. Paroo kissed each girl on the top of the head and then went off to greet the rest of guests.

Authors Note: This story is a prologue to The Music Man. Marian's family life prior to her dad dying is not really explored so that's why I decided to write this story. I hope you all enjoyed. I hope to write more Music Man fan fiction in the coming months since I am auditioning for that show on February 9th. I am considering auditioning for Marian haven't decided if I am going to audition for that part yet. I own no Music Man characters. Marian's grandparents, Mr. Madison and Ethel's mother are my original characters.