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. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QQ16FUOSc
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. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2HGryaKH9f
“It must be so hard,” Rebecca murmurs, “coming on the heels of your brother Buick’s. . .um. . .legal troubles.” 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ367WEfITyQ
You bitch.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqBWMGxVDy
“My brother has nothing to do with any of this,” I snap, noting the warning look I’m getting from Holmlund. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1UUTY0l1Rw
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. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU19YMnZCY9
Rebecca gives me a knowing, patronizing look than irritates the shit out of me. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcg2ESHpVY
Then she moves on to Blue, asking about Bootstrap and the plane crash and his decision to enlist in the Army. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3dKUiHXZh
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. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQ8WGoaXOT
She knows that Blue and his dad had been estranged when Bill Daniels died. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaeTi14bLn9
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. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡue8056Wbiq
Rebecca Wolfe obviously did her research. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JNR6x85NW
For a second, we both just stand here with our mouths open. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGid8VP64N4
How the hell does she know all this?142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDiVtg8aBe
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.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGC5vChhoet
Our interrogator speaks again. “So now, let’s talk about the girl in Afghanistan. And what happened to the other members of your patrol.” 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkxAK7PX7z
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. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UPQA13pdO
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. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIagJH9GnHW
I’d once read an old newspaper article that mocked Ikana’s pretensions, contemptuously calling it the “Okie Ivy.” 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTuOi3CBHq8
During the interview, Blue and I are positioned in the most picturesque spots, the places that show up on the college’s recruiting brochures. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA59tAgmbMf
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. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1zFF4Qs0X
I can already see how it’s all going to be packaged when the interview airs. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnit8ZcSMaT
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. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡskbDn2br8j
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. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc6r6G4mwjp
It is probably going to be regarded as good journalism. Truth be told, it is good journalism. And already, I hate it. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLpQDMGvSK
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.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7Zm47SMKx
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. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxR3ndb8Ts
“You lied,” she says bluntly. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvp9c3Lg51N
“Yes.” 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkO3EdB7n1S
“You lied to your commanding officer, to those interrogating you. To your fellow soldiers.” 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxOGp0SZu8
“Yes.” 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKm6xOxFb3G
“You lied, again and again. You allowed that lie to spread. You allowed the families and friends to believe that lie.” 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGR7e37UU9
“Yes.” His voice is just a croak, and his face crumbles. “I did.” 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc29t7vQ3jh
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. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKwKZnbSMd
How the hell can he not be paying attention to this?142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPIhpFyRvb
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. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8dDlsmEfHq
So I close my mouth. But when I feel the camera focusing on me, I almost panic. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHvnXwIFDF
This is much harder than I thought it would be. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9HBuW4rXB
Finally, the interview comes to an end, and Rebecca signs off with some melodramatic bullshit. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxVUCxcM9i
She hands off the mic and steps closer to us, giving us a warm smile that I do not trust. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Hkf525vdT
“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.” 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fhIHHvmTX
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.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4symWv8Z8L
But I know it’s just beginning. 142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXnCjkMogP
~~~
Thanks for reading Tangled Up in Blue! More coming soon. What do you think will happen to Blue?
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