Snow dome

Featured in

  • Published 20160202
  • ISBN: 978-1-925240-80-1
  • Extent: 264pp
  • Paperback (234 x 153mm), eBook

IT LOOKED LIKE beer o’clock in a city pub on a Friday afternoon. Suits, noise, movement. But it wasn’t. It was 9 am in a suburban courthouse on a crisp April morning. So many men in suits, blokeing around, smiling, shaking hands, patting backs. Solicitors, prosecutors, perpetrators. I couldn’t tell the difference. They were lit by the sun shining through the large round skylight above. Some suits were broader than the shoulders under them; others were worn like a second skin. My ex-husband looked comfortable in his, talking to his lawyer, ‘I can’t believe it…there’s no grounds…mental problems.’ I felt the muscles in my body tighten, snapping back into familiar places.

I moved to where a police officer sat locked inside a glass booth, a ticket seller for an exclusive show. Without eye contact she repeated my name, louder than I would have liked and turned to the second page of her list. She ticked my name off, then pointed with her pen to the glass purpose-built room behind her. Another police officer, solid and focused on the men pacing outside, punched a code that opened the double-glazed door. No one looked up as I entered. It closed automatically behind me and my ears found it hard to adjust to the instant silence.

Already a subscriber? Sign in here

If you are an educator or student wishing to access content for study purposes please contact us at griffithreview@griffith.edu.au

Share article

About the author

Lynn Garlick

Lynn Garlick is a doctoral candidate at the Writing and Society Research Centre, Western Sydney University. This is an edited extract from her soon-to-be...

More from this edition

Stuff

MemoirWE GET TO vote just once every few years, but every single day we consume, we buy, we acquire. Stuff. And more stuff. Each...

A half-formed nation

MemoirHAPPY BIRTHDAY OLLIE! I thought I’d drop you a line about life, the state of the planet and the future of our country. Don’t worry,...

Economics of power

EssayThe only serious threat to the real interests of the United States can come from a failure to adjust sensibly to the newer world...

Stay up to date with the latest, news, articles and special offers from Griffith Review.