The green room is basically a lounge where refreshments are served while the guests of the program, primarily those who will be performing and secondarily their family and friends, can enjoy refreshments while watching the show’s progress on a television monitor. There are others who crowd into the green room. Guests of the production staff, agents, lawyers, press agents, hangers-on, and the like. Often the green room becomes quite crowded. It is hard for the show’s ushers and security personnel who stand guard by the entrance to the green room to determine who should or shouldn’t enter. Eventually they quit trying.

The green room on the night of The Big Question’s first show was full. Round two’s contestants nervously watched the first half of the program. Friends and family of contestants were watching too. Father Brady, who was onstage, had come alone, but Arthur Durch, also onstage, invited Detectives Michael Murphy and Liam Lynch, who were delighted to come. Linus Major was sitting in the green room with his coworker and buddy Artie Flowers and his mentor Dr. Gregory Bukinberg. He had already hugged Jimmy Joel Jenks when Jimmy Joel walked into the green room with standby Billy Constable and Billy’s girlfriend, Rosie Feinstein.

Retta Mae Wagons was a very surprised replacement for the “suddenly gone missing” Dr. Theresa Mendavey. The problem of why Dr. Mendavey didn’t show was of no concern to Retta Mae Wagons. What did concern Retta Mae was her own couldn’t-care-less attitude. Neither the doctor’s disappearance nor the doctor’s reappearance—if that should happen—nor her being the doctor’s replacement moved Retta Mae one way or another. Normally she would have thought this was her extraordinarily lucky day. But sitting there in the green room, Retta Mae Wagons wondered if anything meant anything to her anymore, or if everything meant nothing. She should have been excited, but she wasn’t. Isn’t it odd, she mused, that I don’t give a rat’s ass if I’m on or off, win or lose, live or die?

“What are you thinking about, girl?” asked the imam.

“Nothing,” said Retta Mae Wagons. She stood up and walked across the room to the refreshment table. She had to put some space between her and the insufferable imam.

“Coffee?” asked Linus Major.

“Please.”

“Regular or decaf?”

“Regular. Please.”

Linus poured Retta Mae a cup of coffee. “Scared?” he asked.

“Kinda.”

“Me too.”

“You too?” said Retta Mae Wagons, surprised. “Aren’t you supposed to be a daredevil? That’s what the newspapers have been calling you.”

“Yeah, well…”

“Yeah, well what?”

“Not really. This entire experience has been somewhat life altering. At least as far as I’m concerned.”

“In what way? And stop making those goo-goo eyes at me.”

“I find you incredibly beautiful,” said Linus Major.

“You’re not so bad-looking yourself.”

“And sweet,” said Linus.

“Fine. So let’s get back to how this experience has altered your life, huh, Linus?”

“What?”

“You were saying how this Big Question experience has altered your life. How has it altered your life?”