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. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpT3Ll8Sde
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. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFz4ErVJvfW
“It must be so hard,” Rebecca murmurs, “coming on the heels of your brother Buick’s. . .um. . .legal troubles.” 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczHFoPo15d
You bitch.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8IDovnFqra
“My brother has nothing to do with any of this,” I snap, noting the warning look I’m getting from Holmlund. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVSxnV7d4T
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. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmgRNDexlAV
Rebecca gives me a knowing, patronizing look than irritates the shit out of me. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqWwx9yy0L
Then she moves on to Blue, asking about Bootstrap and the plane crash and his decision to enlist in the Army. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNyVH45OOe
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. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCi2GHXJGL
She knows that Blue and his dad had been estranged when Bill Daniels died. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxnc59WKDI
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. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOutfvkVbH
Rebecca Wolfe obviously did her research. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtjVIvHvqR
For a second, we both just stand here with our mouths open. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4up184wZkn
How the hell does she know all this?171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WzKXKsGGr
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.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGLJR5Kf2m
Our interrogator speaks again. “So now, let’s talk about the girl in Afghanistan. And what happened to the other members of your patrol.” 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPMAgkaEsh
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. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOF2GeFsa4
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. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNGFjySDMu
I’d once read an old newspaper article that mocked Ikana’s pretensions, contemptuously calling it the “Okie Ivy.” 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgqCSMNsv7
During the interview, Blue and I are positioned in the most picturesque spots, the places that show up on the college’s recruiting brochures. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUyxSsHJXX
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. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8y0l5q5kS
I can already see how it’s all going to be packaged when the interview airs. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUDrhrQ2Umf
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. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQtCLyZ6ST
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. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYZwyoyGDz
It is probably going to be regarded as good journalism. Truth be told, it is good journalism. And already, I hate it. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkPUu0fTx9Q
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.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPh9UWr95cU
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. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPyQR7qNHl
“You lied,” she says bluntly. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUjDu2iJgXW
“Yes.” 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡineekUqoiP
“You lied to your commanding officer, to those interrogating you. To your fellow soldiers.” 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZYxaXl0PB
“Yes.” 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NNX1ruZNq
“You lied, again and again. You allowed that lie to spread. You allowed the families and friends to believe that lie.” 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFdJcnNmYy
“Yes.” His voice is just a croak, and his face crumbles. “I did.” 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZqlRMDTfv
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. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uHJ6pFR17
How the hell can he not be paying attention to this?171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOmedvwXaF
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. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDd09zeAkZD
So I close my mouth. But when I feel the camera focusing on me, I almost panic. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2Y2W6VZv3
This is much harder than I thought it would be. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGSLWcZyAW
Finally, the interview comes to an end, and Rebecca signs off with some melodramatic bullshit. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8AID09zqq
She hands off the mic and steps closer to us, giving us a warm smile that I do not trust. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGejGT4PoDZ
“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.” 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbbnYitiaH
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.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GDZs0P1xH
But I know it’s just beginning. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBv6Y0UcVx
~~~
Thanks for reading Tangled Up in Blue! More coming soon. What do you think will happen to Blue?
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