"No, TJ, I didn't have you. You had me. It's different. Do you know that Anne liked you at the beginning? She did, because you're the fun one, the one who parties, but when the fun ends, that's when you come to me to solve your problems," he said. "You had plenty of time to change for me, but you never did, and you certainly didn't do it now. You decided to leave before even talking to me. It had nothing to do with me and everything to do with what you wanted, just like always."
Doug sighed. "You love me, but you love yourself more, and that's good, I guess. That's... that's just who you are, and you didn't need to say anything the other day, because I do know you. You can't abandon him, because he makes you feel good and you're not replacing me, because I was never part of your life the way he is. Look, TJ, I'm not upset with you. You've found someone who means someone to you and that's great; it really is, but you can't rewrite history through rose-colored glasses now that you're happy."
He shook his head. "It matters what I am. It matters to me. If anything, Pittsburgh proved that it's what I like, what I'm good at, not because Mom wants me to, but because I want to, because I feel alive when I'm working sixteen hours a day making things happen, shaping the future of our political life. Unfortunately, I can't be what I want, and so what I want doesn't really matter at all, which is why we - all of us - will end up doing what you want and we all know what you want. So I'm skipping all the discussions and arguments and going to the bottom line. If you can convince Travis to stay, it would be really really good, because I can't see our parents or Nana surviving the type of life they are describing. You want to help me, then stop with the things that can't happen and focus on the things you can make happen: convince Travis to stay. It's not going to be a great life, or even a good one, but at least they'll be fine."