Ron Langston, stressed while trying to get his hardware store open for business by a certain date, has to pass up particpating in a father/son competition at his son Derrick's school. Grandfather Neb fills in, although Neb has problems of his own dealing with teenage foster son Marcus, who complains that he doesn't know where his real mom (who died of a drug overdose when Marcus was 13) is buried. Neb offers Marcus info concerning his mother and they visit the site where her ashes are buried. Meanwhile, Charlie (Charlotte), wanting to impress at a friend's Sweet 16 party, ""borrows"" her mother's credit card to charge a new dress with plans on returning the dress after the party and having the charge credited back to mom's account without her knowing. However, what she didn't plan on was having someone spill punch on her outfit, making it unreturnable.
Ron is offended when Gerry Seaton, a new contractor client for his and Siggy's hardware store only seems to interact with Siggy, who seemingly has no problem dealing with someone who ignores his black partner. Ayesha confronts her boyfriend Roger Clayton (who's also an officer serving under Ayesha's father Neb) after she hears whispers of Roger's infidelity and catches him with another woman he's been seeing. After hearing that Neb reassigned Roger to a desk job, Ayesha is also upset with her dad for not letting her handle her personal life her way. Meanwhile, Derrick, wanting to change his image consults Marcus, who introduces him to gangsta rap and a thuggish style of dress. After emulating what he hears in the music, Derrick learns the hard way that he shouldn't use certain words, especially when he doesn't know the meaning behind them.
It's graduation day for Maggie, who's finally picking up her Bachelor of Science degree. Wanting a nice, new pair of shoes to attend the ceremony, Marcus asks Neb for some money. When Neb refuses to give him more than $60, Marcus devises a plan to sell a pair of hot speakers, hoping to make a profit on the original $60. Ron planned a special night at a hotel to celebrate Maggie's special day, but plans are interrupted when they get a phone call alerting them that diabetic son Derrick has been rushed to the hospital after gorging on junk food and not taking his insulin shot.