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. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNeAr4DMKDq
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. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMii5Qi8V9L
“It must be so hard,” Rebecca murmurs, “coming on the heels of your brother Buick’s. . .um. . .legal troubles.” 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPpuDJZklO
You bitch.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ousmxaKAH
“My brother has nothing to do with any of this,” I snap, noting the warning look I’m getting from Holmlund. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6icnJpwPe
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. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZE8uYLryW
Rebecca gives me a knowing, patronizing look than irritates the shit out of me. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgLnLy8Zdg
Then she moves on to Blue, asking about Bootstrap and the plane crash and his decision to enlist in the Army. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCuYw9CbpM
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. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZihOu8nUGw
She knows that Blue and his dad had been estranged when Bill Daniels died. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubVYyPzO4A
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. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBetqV6838
Rebecca Wolfe obviously did her research. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOm2CMJ3N5
For a second, we both just stand here with our mouths open. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCbEc7ID3I9
How the hell does she know all this?137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDtDmOaVpw
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.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWgpSh6BqA5
Our interrogator speaks again. “So now, let’s talk about the girl in Afghanistan. And what happened to the other members of your patrol.” 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGSPUevvQx
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. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUws1RTg2D
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. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7BFazGyUV
I’d once read an old newspaper article that mocked Ikana’s pretensions, contemptuously calling it the “Okie Ivy.” 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUdtd1n25h
During the interview, Blue and I are positioned in the most picturesque spots, the places that show up on the college’s recruiting brochures. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdFjD2QAnD
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. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVy69RGmiQL
I can already see how it’s all going to be packaged when the interview airs. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZpr9Ppcfh
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. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJ0DVsyiFi
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. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfKltbOqaq
It is probably going to be regarded as good journalism. Truth be told, it is good journalism. And already, I hate it. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMplRmtyLb9
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.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOA6n5FLz1g
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. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVyO33HrOB
“You lied,” she says bluntly. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyeBMApPCm
“Yes.” 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvlBHuAYCD
“You lied to your commanding officer, to those interrogating you. To your fellow soldiers.” 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeOypfj01de
“Yes.” 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5q4J75d83J
“You lied, again and again. You allowed that lie to spread. You allowed the families and friends to believe that lie.” 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyJ4DFV6Li
“Yes.” His voice is just a croak, and his face crumbles. “I did.” 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkSNFUwTq1
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. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiaU1kUu0rk
How the hell can he not be paying attention to this?137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchjAx8bgYO
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. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3N01yLf2CG
So I close my mouth. But when I feel the camera focusing on me, I almost panic. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZdJLWAMvd9
This is much harder than I thought it would be. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4aKaY8tIG
Finally, the interview comes to an end, and Rebecca signs off with some melodramatic bullshit. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Z1lZ0cphs
She hands off the mic and steps closer to us, giving us a warm smile that I do not trust. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoBOrCCDBL
“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.” 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6Wq8BT1Ym
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.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8OdWRNgoT
But I know it’s just beginning. 137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOdZnOYktb
~~~
Thanks for reading Tangled Up in Blue! More coming soon. What do you think will happen to Blue?
ns3.133.151.58da2
