"Your boyfriend's a Broadway actor? That's amazing, Ajay. Maybe... Maybe once you've gotten back on your feet a little, or at least feel up to it, you and I could go see his show together?" He shook his head firmly, disagreeing with his brother's self-deprecation. "You don't really sound mental to me," Travis replied, and that much was true. There was a twisted sort of logic that went with an illness like Ajay's, a logic that didn't necessarily make sense to anyone else, but to those living with it, made total sense. Travis couldn't wrap his mind around feeling that way, but it said something to him that Ajay was able to explain it on some level. It had been his reality for so long. "You sound pretty well aware of what's going on, actually. That's not mental at all. I know you're probably not thrilled about the feeding tube situation. I don't want to assume anything, though. How do you... How do you feel about the feeding tube?"
Travis gave a small nod at that. "You're right. I'm a social worker. I work with sick kids, and it's my job to know what to say, but... It's different when it's your brother who's sick, and with an illness you're just not all that familiar with. Ajay, I want you to know I don't think you're an attention-seeker or any of those other awful things that Candy said about you. She's a bitch. A serious kind of bitch, and you know that better than I do because she's been part of your life longer than mine. But I don't think that you've done anything to bring this on yourself, and I certainly don't see you as an attention seeker. To the contrary. It kind of seems like the last thing you want is the attention on you. Tripping and screwing up happen. Doesn't mean that I'm going to stop being here to support you. I don't want to push you or make you uncomfortable, though. I just... I want a chance to get to know you. Not all crazy and rushed. I just want to spend time with you, and that might mean sometimes that I'm focusing on you. We'll take each step together, okay? I won't push you to do anything you're not comfortable with, but I'm also not going anywhere just because your illness is telling you that you don't deserve it."
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Travis gave a small nod at that. "You're right. I'm a social worker. I work with sick kids, and it's my job to know what to say, but... It's different when it's your brother who's sick, and with an illness you're just not all that familiar with. Ajay, I want you to know I don't think you're an attention-seeker or any of those other awful things that Candy said about you. She's a bitch. A serious kind of bitch, and you know that better than I do because she's been part of your life longer than mine. But I don't think that you've done anything to bring this on yourself, and I certainly don't see you as an attention seeker. To the contrary. It kind of seems like the last thing you want is the attention on you. Tripping and screwing up happen. Doesn't mean that I'm going to stop being here to support you. I don't want to push you or make you uncomfortable, though. I just... I want a chance to get to know you. Not all crazy and rushed. I just want to spend time with you, and that might mean sometimes that I'm focusing on you. We'll take each step together, okay? I won't push you to do anything you're not comfortable with, but I'm also not going anywhere just because your illness is telling you that you don't deserve it."