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. 68Please respect copyright.PENANA8BCx3XZ1WT
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. 68Please respect copyright.PENANACUOdoQ7DRW
“It must be so hard,” Rebecca murmurs, “coming on the heels of your brother Buick’s. . .um. . .legal troubles.” 68Please respect copyright.PENANAmnbkZGI498
You bitch.68Please respect copyright.PENANA3W2xuMvANJ
“My brother has nothing to do with any of this,” I snap, noting the warning look I’m getting from Holmlund. 68Please respect copyright.PENANApbpv3KbcpJ
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. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAUMkYmucrZt
Rebecca gives me a knowing, patronizing look than irritates the shit out of me. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAtsuv0Gjw7n
Then she moves on to Blue, asking about Bootstrap and the plane crash and his decision to enlist in the Army. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAsmpuGvZyy9
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. 68Please respect copyright.PENANA4UfaeZOl2t
She knows that Blue and his dad had been estranged when Bill Daniels died. 68Please respect copyright.PENANA5r6bPuCeDb
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. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAthMhN3D0eJ
Rebecca Wolfe obviously did her research. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAsOtG980NpL
For a second, we both just stand here with our mouths open. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAs1V98WcLQ6
How the hell does she know all this?68Please respect copyright.PENANAe8c01Cl9k2
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.68Please respect copyright.PENANADcYtg1G6IX
Our interrogator speaks again. “So now, let’s talk about the girl in Afghanistan. And what happened to the other members of your patrol.” 68Please respect copyright.PENANAr3ydXl2mk3
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. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAO8VjVQa0mU
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. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAoIuTTfIPKx
I’d once read an old newspaper article that mocked Ikana’s pretensions, contemptuously calling it the “Okie Ivy.” 68Please respect copyright.PENANA6LRFGwSBDw
During the interview, Blue and I are positioned in the most picturesque spots, the places that show up on the college’s recruiting brochures. 68Please respect copyright.PENANARD8IVd2DFf
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. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAbw2GO7wwWW
I can already see how it’s all going to be packaged when the interview airs. 68Please respect copyright.PENANA98WBxfZnoV
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. 68Please respect copyright.PENANA1X6dpj9m4B
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. 68Please respect copyright.PENANA3Mk92VAzW1
It is probably going to be regarded as good journalism. Truth be told, it is good journalism. And already, I hate it. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAMUvjrGjGyI
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.68Please respect copyright.PENANAcbThATMwJu
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. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAN9xGgmzTXN
“You lied,” she says bluntly. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAfM4gHKc8aw
“Yes.” 68Please respect copyright.PENANAbFa4uFoYgo
“You lied to your commanding officer, to those interrogating you. To your fellow soldiers.” 68Please respect copyright.PENANAwbthLyCnfC
“Yes.” 68Please respect copyright.PENANARmEgj64ErG
“You lied, again and again. You allowed that lie to spread. You allowed the families and friends to believe that lie.” 68Please respect copyright.PENANAVgxFjsWfXD
“Yes.” His voice is just a croak, and his face crumbles. “I did.” 68Please respect copyright.PENANAYxqfTHlo6G
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. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAAFRKEwpTcD
How the hell can he not be paying attention to this?68Please respect copyright.PENANAbXQJjAXvAO
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. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAr7SDP8AfPx
So I close my mouth. But when I feel the camera focusing on me, I almost panic. 68Please respect copyright.PENANA4WiTGUvuY0
This is much harder than I thought it would be. 68Please respect copyright.PENANA82iR5BD3Zv
Finally, the interview comes to an end, and Rebecca signs off with some melodramatic bullshit. 68Please respect copyright.PENANA7byf9wEBpf
She hands off the mic and steps closer to us, giving us a warm smile that I do not trust. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAGfcKzbYSwT
“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.” 68Please respect copyright.PENANAhjm3tsGtOG
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.68Please respect copyright.PENANAdt1R9LpeRT
But I know it’s just beginning. 68Please respect copyright.PENANAc4C6AL20LP
~~~
Thanks for reading Tangled Up in Blue! More coming soon. What do you think will happen to Blue?
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