Page 15 of Groomsman to Groom

Skye plunges in. “And the first question: duringGame of Thrones, what main characters died during the red wedding?”

Brielle smacks her buzzer first. She answers, “Catelyn Stark, Robb Stark and his wife Talisa.” Then she quickly adds, “And a bunch of soldiers.”

“That is correct.” Skye says. “And that’s one point for Brielle. Next question. Who was Captain Picard’s right-hand man?”

Brielle again. “Lieutenant Riker.”

“That’s correct.” Skye pulls out another card, and the questions continue.

With each answer, I find myself leaning forward, captivated not just by Brielle’s knowledge but by the passion behind it. She doesn’t just know these worlds—she loves them, understands them at a level that goes beyond memorizing facts.

We move to the second round, and Annabelle is crying. Of course she is. She finally says, “I’m not a sci-fi pop culturetrivia queen, Hayes. So I’m going to excuse myself from this competition. But you know we share a connection that rises above all this hoopla.” She walks off set.

“Okay, then.” Skye picks up her next card. “Next question. What type of swords do they use in Star Wars?”

Gabby buzzes in, licking her lips as she looks at the camera. Finally, she answers, “Long, hard glowing swords.”

“Sorry Gabby, you’re wrong, but I think you know that.” Skye’s lip curls.

Offstage, Annabelle yells, “Lightsabers.”

“That is correct, Annabelle. But you just quit the competition,” Skye says, irritation in her tone. “For the next question, please only answer if you haven’t quit and you aren’t pulling random responses out of your butt.”

“What’s the name of Jon Snow’s direwolf?”

Luna buzzes. “Ghost.”

“What’s the name of the rehabilitated Borg woman?”

Serena buzzes. “Seven-of-Nine.”

“All right.” Skye clears her throat. “We’re down to our last question, and Brielle’s got a lead so big this isn’t fun anymore. But this next question’s more personal. Hayes would like to know each of your favorite episodes fromStar Trek, The Next Generation.”

Brielle’s up first. “That’s easy,” she says, “But I actually have two.Measure of a Man, where Captain Picard argues the sentience of Data, a robot. AndAll Good Things. I mean, it made cinematic history.” She glances at me, and I shake my head. She knows my favorite episode isTapestry, but we agreed to disagree there.

Still—I can’t contain my smile. The way her eyes light up as she explains something reminds me of how August looks when he’s discussing scientific theories that I barely understand.

Kavita says, “Mine is the one where Data’s evil brother visits.”

“That episode is calledBrothers,” I chirp in.

“Mine’s the one where they inserted a big probe.” Gabby flips her hair.

‘Uh, I think there’s a lot of episodes with probes. No?” Skye looks at me for help.

“There aren’t that many, actually. There’s theNth Degree,” I say.

Brielle adds, “There’s the one where Picard almost dies from the energy burst from an alien probe. I think it’s calledInner Light.”

Gabby smiles conspiratorially at the camera again. “The long,deepprobe.”

“That penetrates a forest?” Brille adds, lifting a brow.

“A probe penetrating a forest,” Skye repeats to me, still thinking this is a serious conversation.

Brielle and I bust up and exchange knowing looks.

“Are you guys talking about penises?” Annabelle yells from backstage.

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