Ivan had a nice nest egg of investments and savings, but not like he wanted to have. However, his brother’s economics were an entirely different story. With makeshift employment and the needed financial support of three sons from three mothers, Derrick was in a deep hole. Nevertheless, he felt offended by the question.

“So, that’s all I am to you now?” he asked Ivan. “No ‘How are you doing? I love you. Let’s hang out and kick it. Go get some girls.’ None of that brotherly love shit, hunh?”

Ivan said, “You tell me, man. You don’t call me for none of that.”

“Yeah, and you don’t call me,” Derrick threw back at him.

They were at a stalemate.

Derrick looked at his brother’s dress code, all nice and neat in his business attire. He said, “I see you still taking good care of your business.”

Ivan nodded. He said, “And I see you still…doing you.” That was all he could say about his brother. He hadn’t done much of anything but make babies and hang out in the streets of Los Angeles. It was a wonder that he hadn’t been killed or sent off to jail yet. He had had a few close calls, however.

Derrick told his brother, “I’m always gon’ try and do me.” Then he added, “But I never really had that chance to get away from it all and do me like you do you.”

Ivan began to shake his head, predicting where their conversation was headed. He said, “Don’t even start that shit again, man.”

“Start what?” Derrick asked him.

Ivan used his right hand to make his point as he spoke. “Mom’s cancer didn’t have shit to do with you fucking up your life, man. And I’m tired of hearing that shit. It ain’t like she gave me some extra push to go to college. I had the grades for it. But you didn’t even finish high school,” he commented. “Now how you gon’ blame that on Mom’s cancer? She didn’t even have cancer when you fucked up.”

Derrick snapped, “Yeah, but she had all kinds of other shit going on that you don’t know shit about, Ivan, because you were too young to know. So your ass got a chance to go to school and all of that other shit without being bothered by it. And who stayed home to be close to Mom while you did you?”