Keegan
Blue and I spend the next hour walking slowly around the Oval with Rebecca Wolfe, answering her questions while the camera zeroes in and Holmlund and Allie the producer trail behind.
Rebecca asks about our families. Her voice is sympathetic when she mentions the death of my mother and the demise of Blue’s father.
But her tone turns pointed when she brings up Virginia and her role in all this, and I soon start to seethe. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrc2VFN2xjk
She’s trying to imply, without coming right out and saying it, that somehow my grandmother is helping Blue evade justice. And that’s a lie. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVA2hIosoK
“It must be so hard,” Rebecca murmurs, “coming on the heels of your brother Buick’s. . .um. . .legal troubles.” 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0hak010oA
You bitch.170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2ConH6xLb
“My brother has nothing to do with any of this,” I snap, noting the warning look I’m getting from Holmlund. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXIc2mS8Xd
I start to say more to defend my grandma, but then I swallow my words. Virginia is used to dealing with the press and she has plenty of resources to stand up for herself. She doesn’t need me to do it. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrEphoqRZI
Rebecca gives me a knowing, patronizing look than irritates the shit out of me. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIX82OxCe0P
Then she moves on to Blue, asking about Bootstrap and the plane crash and his decision to enlist in the Army. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQcaXQCnBh
She seems to know that Blue’s father wanted him to work for Bootstrap and follow in his footsteps, and that Blue turned his back on all of it. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoA3c5hPF05
She knows that Blue and his dad had been estranged when Bill Daniels died. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvQZsTGkuS
She even somehow knows about Blue’s guitar, an apparent peace offering that arrived in Afghanistan only a week before the crash that ended any chance of a reconciliation between father and son. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDBRm5TFDL
Rebecca Wolfe obviously did her research. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3s1oZgh2VH
For a second, we both just stand here with our mouths open. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbePkmPbpbp
How the hell does she know all this?170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWp7KM2wPc
I see the flash of bewilderment and then anger on Blue’s face before his expression turns to stone. I’d let go of him as we walked, but now I weave my fingers through his again and squeeze his hand, trying to silently console him.170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfJTRnCyvJ
Our interrogator speaks again. “So now, let’s talk about the girl in Afghanistan. And what happened to the other members of your patrol.” 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYdNrRCkX1
We’ve already made the circle twice at that point, lingering occasionally in front of the Gothic-style buildings that line the Oval as Rebecca and Allie maneuver us into various shots they want. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPMdm13r4n
When Ikana was established in the sixties, its founders wanted it to one day be considered Oklahoma’s version of an Ivy League school, so they’d built it to look like one: stone walls splashed with acid to make them look old, pointed arches, fancy carvings. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgd6udqnEFD
I’d once read an old newspaper article that mocked Ikana’s pretensions, contemptuously calling it the “Okie Ivy.” 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmpTIqwpMZ
During the interview, Blue and I are positioned in the most picturesque spots, the places that show up on the college’s recruiting brochures. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84kdIU5dO8
By the time we’re standing in front of the elaborate fountain that anchors the Oval, with rubbernecking students streaming around us and gawking at Rebecca, I’m feeling sick to my stomach. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdMeLJzXY2
I can already see how it’s all going to be packaged when the interview airs. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4dPn16XOr
There’ll be a dramatic soundtrack, and Blue and I will be portrayed as a tragic, modern-day Romeo and Juliet. A collage of contradictory images will be added to the effect: leafy, insulated Ikana, the carefree college party house, the war zone of Afghanistan, the real-world deaths of three American heroes. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRnwJ1yjtf
It’ll probably be hard-hitting and mesmerizing: love and ambition, sex and sacrifice, death and dishonor, all taking place among two powerful Oklahoma families. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQZd8Ztahc
It is probably going to be regarded as good journalism. Truth be told, it is good journalism. And already, I hate it. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj84sjPgKlU
We stand in front of the fountain for half an hour. Blue does most of the talking, his voice veering from calm and almost aloof to quivering, on the edge of panic.170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEvMa1t1Uxc
Rebecca’s persistent questioning takes him back, over and over again, to the attack that killed Monti, Cunny, and Hud. And she keeps focusing on Blue’s actions in the days after. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7PvS8TWFn
“You lied,” she says bluntly. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCkzSb36C8c
“Yes.” 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2Lfo8Fa6f
“You lied to your commanding officer, to those interrogating you. To your fellow soldiers.” 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqou8e63WJ
“Yes.” 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3dliR30mT
“You lied, again and again. You allowed that lie to spread. You allowed the families and friends to believe that lie.” 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE16PAMID9U
“Yes.” His voice is just a croak, and his face crumbles. “I did.” 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hWjIT2Tdk
I glare at Rebecca, then look over at Holmlund, wanting him to intervene. But he is on the phone, walking around in a circle several feet beyond the fountain and waving one arm around a lot. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6jJoS88yu
How the hell can he not be paying attention to this?170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkMR1ORByV
It’s like watching a vulture pick at the open wound of a loved one as Rebecca’s questioning intensifies. After a while, I start to come to Blue’s defense. But he squeezes my hand and shakes his head slightly. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡciEjnUglEl
So I close my mouth. But when I feel the camera focusing on me, I almost panic. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRm1c3Sxvo
This is much harder than I thought it would be. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvEFmFtXQT
Finally, the interview comes to an end, and Rebecca signs off with some melodramatic bullshit. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHyJ06FhCm
She hands off the mic and steps closer to us, giving us a warm smile that I do not trust. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQmBuCHe6UC
“I know that was difficult,” she says softly, looking from Blue to me and back again, “but you both did really well. I tried to be even-handed, but I had to ask the hard questions. I hope you understand.” 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGAqUZaGJo
Blue’s face is expressionless as he unclips his mic and hands it to Rebecca. “I’m just glad it’s over with,” he says, his voice wooden.170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1sF57kwU4
But I know it’s just beginning. 170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCkTfKNHFG
~~~
Thanks for reading Tangled Up in Blue! More coming soon. What do you think will happen to Blue?
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