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. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRw8gMZK16
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. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPQoJcjZT4
“It must be so hard,” Rebecca murmurs, “coming on the heels of your brother Buick’s. . .um. . .legal troubles.” 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8j5n8lRdw
You bitch.146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOq8fS9Q6oJ
“My brother has nothing to do with any of this,” I snap, noting the warning look I’m getting from Holmlund. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqcOrUKAnr
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. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ803rvXtluQ
Rebecca gives me a knowing, patronizing look than irritates the shit out of me. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5alQlCPec
Then she moves on to Blue, asking about Bootstrap and the plane crash and his decision to enlist in the Army. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmRsLtSwTh
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. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdiMIcXQRJ
She knows that Blue and his dad had been estranged when Bill Daniels died. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQi5lEnKH5k
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. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Nj3RzWAMF
Rebecca Wolfe obviously did her research. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxoWI4YwwQo
For a second, we both just stand here with our mouths open. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVc1QYrjQi
How the hell does she know all this?146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFahN3pv1ok
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.146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUv1iDI0PIF
Our interrogator speaks again. “So now, let’s talk about the girl in Afghanistan. And what happened to the other members of your patrol.” 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Q7yU6uchV
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. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzinHrBH60
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. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsj6zlHCQMi
I’d once read an old newspaper article that mocked Ikana’s pretensions, contemptuously calling it the “Okie Ivy.” 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBF8RbBPUV
During the interview, Blue and I are positioned in the most picturesque spots, the places that show up on the college’s recruiting brochures. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMbWAqM1CU
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. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5e41PUx2V
I can already see how it’s all going to be packaged when the interview airs. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNL6Ahf0I5x
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. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68rRNke5XT
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. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQYl94iEoT
It is probably going to be regarded as good journalism. Truth be told, it is good journalism. And already, I hate it. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPAYdKgIkL
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.146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0M0Xa2Exo
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. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6yh0oEudk
“You lied,” she says bluntly. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQTRtrB2baC
“Yes.” 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQtr0Kxu8J
“You lied to your commanding officer, to those interrogating you. To your fellow soldiers.” 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUQMDegrE8
“Yes.” 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDbGA5D0uf
“You lied, again and again. You allowed that lie to spread. You allowed the families and friends to believe that lie.” 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWjvSox2ey
“Yes.” His voice is just a croak, and his face crumbles. “I did.” 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMK3X5e92O
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. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdD4EYV0BY
How the hell can he not be paying attention to this?146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk4b1mp2tch
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. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojrqs9Mvsk
So I close my mouth. But when I feel the camera focusing on me, I almost panic. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtL6nmGb8OJ
This is much harder than I thought it would be. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvJrYuxYgK
Finally, the interview comes to an end, and Rebecca signs off with some melodramatic bullshit. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRu92w7nN5W
She hands off the mic and steps closer to us, giving us a warm smile that I do not trust. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW5pxKqW67I
“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.” 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfw2iW9A5CQ
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.146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv2k7Vmzu9z
But I know it’s just beginning. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Gnro2VQpr
~~~
Thanks for reading Tangled Up in Blue! More coming soon. What do you think will happen to Blue?
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