I went home that day and continued my life as I had done thus far. A couple of days later, I was on my way to meet several of my girlfriends for lunch to celebrate our birthdays, but was running late because my children had ballet practice that morning, so I told them to start without me. When I finally arrived, I bumped into one of my friends at the entrance. She was talking on her cell phone but quickly stopped and asked, “Have you seen our group chat?”
“No,” I replied. “Is our lunch canceled?”
“No,” she said, “but Olyslager is sitting at the table next to ours! We were wondering if you would rather change venues.”
Incredibly, I felt nothing but the arrival of an unexpected opportunity. If anyone should be uncomfortable and leave under these circumstances, it should be him, not me. I was not about to cower away from him. So, I entered the restaurant, walked right by him, and received a warm welcome by my dear friends. I sat in the chair they had saved for me, with my back to Olyslager and his two friends. My friends later told me that he seemed fidgety and uncomfortable, putting on his sunglasses and taking them off constantly. Several other people I knew left their tables to come say hello and give me a hug. Eventually, he left. A small yet priceless victory for me.
One of the most common questions I am asked regarding Olyslager’s accusations against me is, “What do the Mayora & Mayora law firm and the US timber investment company Global Forest Partners have to do with any of it?” My first judge, Jisela Reinoso Trujillo, the one who recused herself for being first cousin to Olyslager’s attorney, Frank Trujillo, expressed the exact same sentiment during my first hearing. It was explained to her that my husband had allegedly awarded Olyslager a farm belonging to GFP as a guarantee for the personal investment that Olyslager had extended him. Mayora & Mayora are GFP’s legal counsel, hired to protect their interests in Guatemala (GFP owns Forestal Ceibal and Forestal Chaklum, the entities said farms belong to). I can only imagine that somewhere along the line, Trujillo and Mayora & Mayora realized that if one party had the farm that the other party wanted returned, their best bet was to join forces instead of fight against each other. All Mayora & Mayora needed to get Olyslager on their side was for him to believe that a judge would never award him the farm, and that he would lose everything if he did not join them by giving his statement against me. But, after another judge declared that my husband did have the legal faculty to award those farms as a guarantee to Olyslager, he no longer needed GFP or this entire situation he had agreed to. Unfortunately, by then, he had already given a false statement to the authorities and could not get out of it so easily. This is what I believe happened behind the scenes before this case was brought before a judge.
In addition, Mayora & Mayora, as GFP’s legal counsel hired to protect their interests in Guatemala, were also most likely the party responsible for allowing my husband’s actions, leaving them in a very awkward and humiliating position. As much as I understood their predicament, in my eyes, they will never be able to justify how their actions against me and my family were appropriate. If Mayora & Mayora considered themselves victims once, I have been a victim twice; once from my husband’s alleged actions, and a second time from theirs. How a group of attorneys came up with such a legal strategy, I can almost understand, but how Olyslager, a businessman, husband, and father-to-be, ever agreed to give a false statement against a housewife and cause so much pain and suffering, I will never understand. There is no amount of anger, frustration, or revenge possible to ever justify that. His declaration against me says so much more about him than it ever said about me.
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Time never stands still, and in the blink of an eye, Christmastime was upon us. My usual Christmas tradition had always involved waiting for the imported Canadian Christmas trees to arrive at the end of November, which meant my decorated tree would be up and ready before my birthday. However, this year was different. I did not have the money to spend on such an extravagance, and had no desire to bother with the purchase, transport, and care of a live tree. Suddenly, I realized that this gave me the freedom to set up our tree whenever I wished, and so, by early November, I dusted off our fake tree, and it was up and shining a light on our difficult circumstances in no time. Not only did we celebrate the longest Christmas season in my life to this day, but I also relished the tranquility of not having the money to buy Christmas gifts. It was fabulous and liberating. The season was solely focused on spending time with the ones we love, a life lesson for me and an invaluable way to teach my children that gifts are only one of many ways in which we can express love.
In the meantime, I realized that time goes on with or without me, that I cannot control everything, and that that’s OK. And so, when I heard that Miranda had requested our December 14 hearing be postponed because he had another hearing on that same date, I just took another breath, and wrote the new date in my calendar, a day that would seal my fate and change my life forever: January 5, 2016.
Chapter 5
Pray for Me
A new year began, and with it came so much uncertainty that I had a very difficult time welcoming it properly. As much as we all tried to keep things as normal as possible, nothing was normal. My brother-in-law’s invitation to spend New Year’s Eve at my mother-in-law’s beach house was a welcome one. I can imagine they were trying to let me know that they loved my children and me, and that, in spite of everything, and especially since my husband was nowhere to be found, they were still there for us. Furthermore, regardless of the difficult circumstances, we managed to have a wonderful time.
The teakwood beach house sits on concrete stilts, less than one hundred feet from the Pacific Ocean. It is small and simple compared to the many mansions that have been built lately on the beaches of Monterrico, Guatemala, but it has always been a place where we are in touch with nature, can spend quality time with one another, and have made so many fantastic family memories. From the front of the house, one enjoys a constant fresh breeze and an amazing ocean view. From the back, early in the morning or on extremely clear days, several majestic volcanoes and mountain ranges are visible in the horizon. In addition, the house is nestled close to a turtle sanctuary, and at this time of the year the baby turtles, who have been saved from constant poaching, are born and set free. We all loved visiting the Tortugario and being a part of the turtle release effort. This time of year is also the season for whale and dolphin migrations, and we’ve been lucky enough to have witnessed them swimming along the coast on several occasions—a truly life-changing experience.
Following our usual tradition, we welcomed the New Year on the beach, roasting marshmallows by the campfire and waiting for the midnight fireworks to light up the entire coastline. When the clock struck twelve, we toasted, hugged, and wished one another a wonderful New Year. This is what we have often done during the past twelve years, since the house was built with so much effort, so much promise, and so much love. As we embraced and welcomed 2016, I felt grateful that my husband’s family had opened their home and invited my children and me to celebrate together one more time.
After our warm family holiday, we returned home and reality was upon us once again. I did my best to keep calm and stay positive regarding my fast-approaching hearing date—easier said than done.
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January 5 proved