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. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFyvLTECviq
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. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXubVOrApv
“It must be so hard,” Rebecca murmurs, “coming on the heels of your brother Buick’s. . .um. . .legal troubles.” 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtUXXcd2Os
You bitch.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡef3Yy6psjJ
“My brother has nothing to do with any of this,” I snap, noting the warning look I’m getting from Holmlund. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORNb4zwVU7
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. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXJuQf1Adv
Rebecca gives me a knowing, patronizing look than irritates the shit out of me. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMLmuwsAiG
Then she moves on to Blue, asking about Bootstrap and the plane crash and his decision to enlist in the Army. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4CCCIuNcq
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. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLm93fQXIVn
She knows that Blue and his dad had been estranged when Bill Daniels died. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4wO8zK4sH
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. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKEC7Snpvp
Rebecca Wolfe obviously did her research. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhE8fK7DM4
For a second, we both just stand here with our mouths open. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpkTd27ekE
How the hell does she know all this?139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHZuiFYKBr
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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwMu3NNRiZa
Our interrogator speaks again. “So now, let’s talk about the girl in Afghanistan. And what happened to the other members of your patrol.” 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhLcU3AFko
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. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkwGzzLzT8
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. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA36GipFxsj
I’d once read an old newspaper article that mocked Ikana’s pretensions, contemptuously calling it the “Okie Ivy.” 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSma5DkxKw
During the interview, Blue and I are positioned in the most picturesque spots, the places that show up on the college’s recruiting brochures. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QUFH7Xt9Y
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. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ijRfetDpS
I can already see how it’s all going to be packaged when the interview airs. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaN7i80UsF
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. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XKLD5Z2nc
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. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYZSBgZp3B
It is probably going to be regarded as good journalism. Truth be told, it is good journalism. And already, I hate it. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTopiZoNCz
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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2ozkQp10l
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. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWKUhf1LrI
“You lied,” she says bluntly. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIIG4TILFA
“Yes.” 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GZQ6lzNDh
“You lied to your commanding officer, to those interrogating you. To your fellow soldiers.” 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2p9h7tD5K
“Yes.” 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyekuYdE1uy
“You lied, again and again. You allowed that lie to spread. You allowed the families and friends to believe that lie.” 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2W0iiggdE
“Yes.” His voice is just a croak, and his face crumbles. “I did.” 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlH2J0uOhWi
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. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlh6eOniuZ
How the hell can he not be paying attention to this?139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcMJG8qpPb
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. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykblQw2300
So I close my mouth. But when I feel the camera focusing on me, I almost panic. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoz2PTpDV1k
This is much harder than I thought it would be. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYyNUQQWzF
Finally, the interview comes to an end, and Rebecca signs off with some melodramatic bullshit. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWBImk9SA6
She hands off the mic and steps closer to us, giving us a warm smile that I do not trust. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULev5wbGPh
“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.” 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLQr2y4Tj0
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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21OIftqJJq
But I know it’s just beginning. 139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWB4rqhbozu
~~~
Thanks for reading Tangled Up in Blue! More coming soon. What do you think will happen to Blue?
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