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. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvnB1ljKSD
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. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzuMVHGwdL
“It must be so hard,” Rebecca murmurs, “coming on the heels of your brother Buick’s. . .um. . .legal troubles.” 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDfWr85IjI
You bitch.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOXUSI9C3x
“My brother has nothing to do with any of this,” I snap, noting the warning look I’m getting from Holmlund. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYSpUDSrCl
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. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRpTgHMjqk
Rebecca gives me a knowing, patronizing look than irritates the shit out of me. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSpKtrKbshk
Then she moves on to Blue, asking about Bootstrap and the plane crash and his decision to enlist in the Army. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY65i5qaqEt
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. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIPS4z2iFq
She knows that Blue and his dad had been estranged when Bill Daniels died. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72qbqjnNE7
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. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0UcC4mQkt
Rebecca Wolfe obviously did her research. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvcRKSWHMoT
For a second, we both just stand here with our mouths open. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcHdMHtOBe
How the hell does she know all this?141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Bhm7R7fb5
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.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkmWvCLti7N
Our interrogator speaks again. “So now, let’s talk about the girl in Afghanistan. And what happened to the other members of your patrol.” 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcqBQXNp8x
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. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWEVzc98vE
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. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUm9TKFr7Nj
I’d once read an old newspaper article that mocked Ikana’s pretensions, contemptuously calling it the “Okie Ivy.” 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpCexI8kaq
During the interview, Blue and I are positioned in the most picturesque spots, the places that show up on the college’s recruiting brochures. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCDj8ZYY9j
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. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmEe1ux46P
I can already see how it’s all going to be packaged when the interview airs. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHjOxDsdsK
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. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPahScJMN1
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. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcB2oYyyi6L
It is probably going to be regarded as good journalism. Truth be told, it is good journalism. And already, I hate it. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSyXIs9Tih
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.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNn8YDb5LyG
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. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRb8ACQrUAT
“You lied,” she says bluntly. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ddUeW2dyC
“Yes.” 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfId63t4tG
“You lied to your commanding officer, to those interrogating you. To your fellow soldiers.” 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XXmjpO7MU
“Yes.” 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjaoVWOeed
“You lied, again and again. You allowed that lie to spread. You allowed the families and friends to believe that lie.” 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzPvE8kNXr
“Yes.” His voice is just a croak, and his face crumbles. “I did.” 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYQ5RnaCSb
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. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMN61L34Vc4
How the hell can he not be paying attention to this?141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDviA1uURC
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. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWr25JV7PON
So I close my mouth. But when I feel the camera focusing on me, I almost panic. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPJJJGdTpx
This is much harder than I thought it would be. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp90vSd3yYM
Finally, the interview comes to an end, and Rebecca signs off with some melodramatic bullshit. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbe2TMEanx0
She hands off the mic and steps closer to us, giving us a warm smile that I do not trust. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGGjLBFFni
“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.” 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rI37lfGNR
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.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIt5KkUXMi
But I know it’s just beginning. 141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ76VI8wdBGF
~~~
Thanks for reading Tangled Up in Blue! More coming soon. What do you think will happen to Blue?
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