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. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9cLNETG62
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. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtiJaNJhxS
“It must be so hard,” Rebecca murmurs, “coming on the heels of your brother Buick’s. . .um. . .legal troubles.” 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXy9JhzYcn
You bitch.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3EVtl76nM
“My brother has nothing to do with any of this,” I snap, noting the warning look I’m getting from Holmlund. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtOFOYWxaoj
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. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpISQRJvgXp
Rebecca gives me a knowing, patronizing look than irritates the shit out of me. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yrtT8ZeDG
Then she moves on to Blue, asking about Bootstrap and the plane crash and his decision to enlist in the Army. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFD2QzkhGiV
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. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRmh0shXPN
She knows that Blue and his dad had been estranged when Bill Daniels died. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3f68qSI7r
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. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCDQiMt9rB
Rebecca Wolfe obviously did her research. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqcyRftvnCw
For a second, we both just stand here with our mouths open. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9uDpGMDXl9
How the hell does she know all this?152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Xmhch6ZTT
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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUHrv7niZq
Our interrogator speaks again. “So now, let’s talk about the girl in Afghanistan. And what happened to the other members of your patrol.” 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM0Y9xK6eIK
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. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhthCBoH4bV
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. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡea66bxTo0I
I’d once read an old newspaper article that mocked Ikana’s pretensions, contemptuously calling it the “Okie Ivy.” 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQd0BMg85nu
During the interview, Blue and I are positioned in the most picturesque spots, the places that show up on the college’s recruiting brochures. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBOVyoXAED
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. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUA9kna57pn
I can already see how it’s all going to be packaged when the interview airs. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTDGC79MZe
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. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuF8E9hBwMs
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. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIN0TVG7161
It is probably going to be regarded as good journalism. Truth be told, it is good journalism. And already, I hate it. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPMIyvgnU1
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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJd63rJP9ac
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. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VnkWygEl9
“You lied,” she says bluntly. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxwyOXy2C5
“Yes.” 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTiaMgI7Lf
“You lied to your commanding officer, to those interrogating you. To your fellow soldiers.” 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ORpOdf8vN
“Yes.” 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOU6fK44w80
“You lied, again and again. You allowed that lie to spread. You allowed the families and friends to believe that lie.” 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXs6XEmCDyt
“Yes.” His voice is just a croak, and his face crumbles. “I did.” 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzi81b3G4k
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. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYfywPZldJ
How the hell can he not be paying attention to this?152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMhtjuQWRS
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. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPbPze1lKw
So I close my mouth. But when I feel the camera focusing on me, I almost panic. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeZzVf2snb
This is much harder than I thought it would be. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhf3z8jphV
Finally, the interview comes to an end, and Rebecca signs off with some melodramatic bullshit. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCf1HPn9qU
She hands off the mic and steps closer to us, giving us a warm smile that I do not trust. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYuyhRErAif
“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.” 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB7mAxh0hCd
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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXLgmgUNi1
But I know it’s just beginning. 152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEseOGf8EYk
~~~
Thanks for reading Tangled Up in Blue! More coming soon. What do you think will happen to Blue?
ns13.58.228.206da2
