Henry Devereaux and Tony Coniglia’s Friendship, Arrests, and Jailhouse Reunion

William Henry Devereaux, Jr. and Tony Coniglia’s friendship joins unceremonious companionship to conversation about affection, professional anxiety, and the absurd turns of daily life. Tony arrives when William has gone missing from his colleagues’ view, bringing whiskey and an appetite for discussion; later, the two discover that the same young officer has arrested them both, though neither has been charged. Their exchanges give William company and practical support while leaving room for Tony’s deadpan wit and his own unsettled circumstances.

An Unexpected Visit

After the department meeting, William’s colleagues cannot find him and suspect he may be hiding at Tony’s place. Tony instead comes to William’s home: William recognizes a vehicle on the road, turns on the outside lights, and sees his friend get out. Tony notes that William has not answered his phone or returned calls, and says that a dozen calls have come in for him that evening. The visit therefore connects private refuge with the department’s continued effort to locate its chair.

Tony brings a bottle of expensive Kentucky sour mash, already partly consumed, and promises that he knows where they can obtain another when it is empty. He goes inside for two glasses, then studies a mess on the deck and offers a mock-forensic account of its source. His improvised deductions—that the unseen person was small, left-handed, limped, had served in India, and might recently have eaten asparagus—turn the scene into a performance for William. The humor is not separate from the visit’s practical intimacy: Tony supplies a drink, notices William’s surroundings, and settles in to keep him company.

Conversation About Affection

Once they are talking, Tony announces that he has been considering human affection. William recalls that Tony had recently been thinking about fornication; Tony says he is now considering giving it up. Their exchange moves from the comic contrast between the two topics to William’s own attraction to women. He describes those feelings as crushes, and Tony interprets them, with mock solemnity, as evidence of arrested adolescent development before proposing that attraction might be an intuitive recognition of another person’s virtue and, ultimately, a desire to know God.

William plays along verbally but privately recognizes a less elevated explanation for his attraction to Meg Quigley. The contrast makes their friendship a setting in which abstract speculation can coexist with frank self-awareness: Tony offers a theological theory, while William measures it against his own experience. Tony then asks whether William is in love with other women, extending the discussion from the nature of attraction to the meaning of William’s attachments. The exchange does not resolve that question; it shows the ease with which the two move from joking to intimate topics.

Tony’s Troubles and Departmental Anxiety

Tony also tells William about a woman who, he says, is obsessed with him. She claims to hear his voice coming from the walls, believes he is God, and says she is carrying God’s child. William understands the allegation to imply that she claims they had sex. Tony’s account places a serious personal complication inside the same conversation that began as philosophical banter, while William responds with alarm and tries to understand what the woman is alleging.

The discussion turns to the university’s departmental politics. Tony says he is unsure whether his dean fully supports him and believes every department has a list; he has heard that the English Department has one. When William asks whether Tony has heard that he drew up the list, Tony makes a distinction between knowing a list exists and knowing who prepared it. Their conversation captures the uncertainty surrounding possible personnel cuts without confirming the list’s authorship. Friendship here provides a channel for speaking plainly about professional suspicion, but it does not make rumor into fact.

Arrest and Mutual Assistance

After their arrest, William and Tony compare what happened. Tony explains that he used his one phone call to leave a message on William’s answering machine. William had tried to call Tony too, but Tony was not home. William gives him aspirin he keeps in the Lincoln’s glove compartment and had brought with him. Their accounts establish that the same young officer took them in, and that neither has been charged.

Tony says the officer had wanted to book him until he identified himself as a professor. William observes that the officer must have been surprised to encounter another professor half an hour later. The exchange turns their shared arrest into a grimly comic coincidence, but also shows the practical continuity between them: they check on one another, exchange the information they have, and share what is available, including the aspirin. Tony knows that William’s father has returned to town, prompting William to acknowledge that he must visit his father, a duty he has been postponing. Even while they remain in custody and William expects the coming day to be difficult, their conversation helps him orient himself toward what he has to do next.