Just Friends

Conroy sought me out that summer of 2004 to get my "advice" and take on being a dorm parent.  He asked if we could go for coffee at Barnes and Noble so he could "pick my brain" about being RD (resident director).  Though I'm sure he genuinely desired to do well at his new job, in later years he confided that he was also looking for a way to get to know me.... Seeing that we were the only two RDs on a campus with only one women's residential hall and one men's residential hall, it was inevitable that we would need to work together.  I did not question his motive for the Barnes and Noble date/meeting, having no designs of my own on him at that time.

We both remember that conversation at Barnes and Noble with fond clarity.  The easy conversation over coffee and carrot cake quickly departed from any prepared questions of Conroy's.  Being a normally reserved person who felt that it took me awhile to warm up to people, I was pleasantly surprised at the immediate comfort level I felt with Conroy.

That initial meeting led to many more "work-related" get-togethers and conversations.  I say "work-related" because they always started out that way, then usually sidetracked into more personal, friendly conversation.  Conroy found out that I liked to run, so we often drove to a park or local track to run together and chat.  I still did not feel anything other than a friendly connection with Conroy and sometimes worried that I should not encourage these long talks lest I give him the wrong impression. We talked a lot about relationships and what we were looking for in potential spouses.  While these conversations really worried me that he may be hinting at something, I also convinced myself that since Conroy is such a friendly, personable guy, he probably talked this way with everyone.

Parenthetical note:  My hesitancy regarding Conroy at this point had more to do with our age difference than anything else.  I simply did not view him in the light of a potential boyfriend/husband.     He was (and is!) a great guy --- fun to be around and easy to talk to.  I saw him as a good friend whose company I valued greatly, but that was the extent of my feelings for him in the fall of 2004.