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. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡielkmZg5KB
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. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqGL51KdNi
“It must be so hard,” Rebecca murmurs, “coming on the heels of your brother Buick’s. . .um. . .legal troubles.” 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeFMcMnvEgE
You bitch.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5IZjRpcBQ
“My brother has nothing to do with any of this,” I snap, noting the warning look I’m getting from Holmlund. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7qtevXGzT
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. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfcHeRQRWaO
Rebecca gives me a knowing, patronizing look than irritates the shit out of me. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7S0BXJjNuP
Then she moves on to Blue, asking about Bootstrap and the plane crash and his decision to enlist in the Army. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAxInVu9L2
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. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgqxFvxupUA
She knows that Blue and his dad had been estranged when Bill Daniels died. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzogqi8G1Q
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. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKZLjsBUEO
Rebecca Wolfe obviously did her research. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1FrJaBK5i
For a second, we both just stand here with our mouths open. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9v2VlEmeP
How the hell does she know all this?143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4lyDsTutk
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.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfjLfw4z1l
Our interrogator speaks again. “So now, let’s talk about the girl in Afghanistan. And what happened to the other members of your patrol.” 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0dCkasRzL
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. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4Nft1nTMA
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. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXRwqO41q9s
I’d once read an old newspaper article that mocked Ikana’s pretensions, contemptuously calling it the “Okie Ivy.” 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkg4sOeu6y
During the interview, Blue and I are positioned in the most picturesque spots, the places that show up on the college’s recruiting brochures. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPNtFQvPG0F
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. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyaxBT8ka4b
I can already see how it’s all going to be packaged when the interview airs. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyIMHGfny6
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. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Pi8eo5Jvh
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. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlghPnf7YoJ
It is probably going to be regarded as good journalism. Truth be told, it is good journalism. And already, I hate it. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6pHupZhPA
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.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprV5uSpaLq
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. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHT26HE1zS
“You lied,” she says bluntly. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5ANSxZuEc
“Yes.” 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3lCUqIQQj
“You lied to your commanding officer, to those interrogating you. To your fellow soldiers.” 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbFifZN0wU
“Yes.” 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnEFXHuMWQ
“You lied, again and again. You allowed that lie to spread. You allowed the families and friends to believe that lie.” 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB57IFE040M
“Yes.” His voice is just a croak, and his face crumbles. “I did.” 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAWX6FY44l
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. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlDjaMT99O
How the hell can he not be paying attention to this?143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDN4EJ1VYT
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. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDXOvqlHYF
So I close my mouth. But when I feel the camera focusing on me, I almost panic. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQMFam3L6A
This is much harder than I thought it would be. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDd8CH2jKt
Finally, the interview comes to an end, and Rebecca signs off with some melodramatic bullshit. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJURFWN2lwy
She hands off the mic and steps closer to us, giving us a warm smile that I do not trust. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8NNgYgykP
“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.” 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe9qgHSeXVg
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.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7yFyZnsTc4
But I know it’s just beginning. 143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1Z80xDfYv
~~~
Thanks for reading Tangled Up in Blue! More coming soon. What do you think will happen to Blue?
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