Patricia and Ira

At the end of their third year in college and their 15th month of being a couple, Patricia suggests to Ira that they consider sharing an apartment during their final year of college. They spend most nights together as it is, but both pay for rooms in separate residence halls on the campus. Patricia thinks that the new arrangement would make sense both financially and in terms of what she sees as their growing commitment to each other. She is not entirely certain how her parents will feel about it, but they know about the relationship and she thinks she can reason with them. They will be saving some money on room-and-board costs.

Patricia is surprised when Ira expresses some hesitancy about the plan. He reminds her that it will be their senior year and that their plans for after college have not been finalized. He suggests that it might be difficult for them if they end up going their separate ways.
Patricia is hurt by this and tells Ira she has been assuming their decisions after college would involve each other. He responds that while this might end up being the case, he thinks they should be cautious about how significant a commitment they make at this point.

He also says that he is quite sure his parents would not approve.

For Patricia, Ira's reluctance calls into question just how solid the relationship really is, and she tells him how disappointed and hurt she is. Ira reassures her of his strong feelings about her but repeats that he wants to be cautious about making any decisions that might jeopardize future planning. He explains that he thinks they are too young to be forming a partnership this is designed to last forever, even though he hopes at this point that it will. Patricia is bewildered and uncertain about how to proceed.