Winter Garden

It’s now mid-February, and little of Meredith’s situation has changed. She lives day-to-day, ignoring the troubles in her marriage and her mother’s increasingly strange behavior.

One day, Meredith leaves work early and drives to Belye Nochi. She finds her mother in the winter garden, wrapped in a blanket. She also notices a second copper column in the garden, but when she asks Anya where it came from, Anya doesn’t answer. Meredith takes her mother inside. Later, Meredith puts Anya to bed and returns home, determined to talk with Jeff about their marriage. She arrives and sees Jeff isn’t home yet, so she showers and tries to look nice for him. When Jeff finally arrives, he has a headache and wants to relax, so they go to bed. At 5:30 am, Ed from the orchard calls Meredith and tells her Anya is pulling a toboggan through one of the fields. Meredith gets up, dresses, and leaves for Belye Nochi.

As spring arrives, Meredith and Jeff live in silence. Anya’s behavior has calmed, allowing Meredith to hope she’s improving. In late March, Meredith goes to Belye Nochi for lunch. She finds Anya standing on the counter holding newspaper and duct tape, saying she needs to go to the bank to get their money out. Meredith also sees where Anya has stripped away the dining room wallpaper, leaving dark spots on the wall from her bleeding hands. Meredith cleans and puts her mother to bed. She then calls Jeff and Dr. Burns, asking both men to come over immediately. Meredith also calls Nina but hangs up when she reaches her sister’s voicemail.

Jeff arrives just as Anya returns to the kitchen and falls from a chair, injuring her ankle. Jeff carries his mother-in-law to the living room, speaking to her gently and as if he were the prince from the fairy tale. Dr. Burns arrives, and Meredith explains what happened. When Dr. Burns questions Anya, she acts causally and explains that she was redecorating and fell. The men help Anya to bed and return to Meredith downstairs. Dr. Burns suggests they place Anya in a nursing home in Wenatchee to help rehabilitate her ankle and give Meredith a break. Meredith reluctantly agrees.

Meredith can’t sleep that night, feeling awful about her decision to put Anya in a nursing home. She calls Nina again, and Danny answers, assuming Meredith knows who he is. Meredith knows nothing about him, as Nina has never mentioned him during their four-and-a-half years together. Danny gives the phone to Nina, and Meredith explains the situation with their mother. Nina compliments her sister’s ability to run the orchard and care for Anya, causing Meredith not to mention the nursing home.

Meredith goes about her day, trying to act like her decision isn’t haunting her. She and Jeff drive to Belye Nochi to pick up Anya and discover that Anya filled her suitcase with leather belts and butter.

At the end of April, Nina wakes to gunfire outside her window. Sylvie calls and tells Nina she won’t use any of her photographs because they aren’t good enough. She also suggests Nina’s work isn’t good because she should be at home grieving for her father. Nina hangs up and realizes she hasn’t kept her promise to her father to get to know her mother.

She goes home, arriving in the Wenatchee Valley the first week of May. Belye Nochi is in full bloom. She enters the house and sees that no one is living there. She then drives to Meredith’s house, stopping to chat with Jeff on the way. He reluctantly tells Nina that Meredith moved Anya to Parkview, the nursing home. Nina goes to her mother’s room at Parkview, remembering having to visit her Aunt Dora here. Nina is angry that Meredith would bring their mother here and not tell her. She bursts into the room and tells her mother she should be home. When Meredith appears a few minutes later, Nina accuses her of dumping their mother at the nursing home because it’s easier. Meredith starts to defend herself, but Anya demands they stop arguing. Meredith gives her mother the food and knitting yarn she brought and promises to return after work. Meredith leaves the room, and Nina tries to follow her. Meredith refuses to stop, so Nina returns to her mother and tells her they’re going.

Nina drives Anya back to Belye Nochi and apologizes for not staying after Evan’s death. Anya quickly takes her things from the car and settles herself back home while Nina brings in the luggage. She falls asleep and wakes feeling refreshed, having slept through an entire day. Nina, noticing how beautiful the orchard is, grabs her camera and enters the orchard, feeling her father’s presence. She also notices the second column in the garden, which has an E engraved on it. Nina compares this column to the first, seeing that it has several Russian letters, including A, P, and O. She remembers the water she left boiling on the stove and runs back inside.

That afternoon, Meredith returns to Parkview and finds her mother’s room empty. The man cleaning the room tells her that Anya moved out. Furious, Meredith drives to Belye Nochi and finds the kitchen a mess with a pot melting to the stove burner. She sees her mother and sister sitting together in the winter garden, and as she approaches them, she overhears her mother telling Nina the fairy tale.

Meredith takes her mother upstairs to her bedroom, settling her down to knit. She returns downstairs and shows Nina the destroyed dining room. A truck in the orchard backfires, causing Anya to run downstairs and tell her daughters there’s gunfire. Meredith soothes her mother and offers her soup. Anya ignores her and leaves the room. Nina thinks about her promise to her father and is determined to get Anya to retell the fairy tale.

Meredith goes to work but becomes frustrated. She drives to the Belye Nochi gift shop, a fruit stand she converted into a popular tourist spot. Meredith leaves the shop, ending up at her house an hour later. She bathes, dresses in a sexy nightgown, and prepares a romantic dinner. However, Jeff doesn’t arrive until after 11:00 pm, and Meredith becomes angry. Jeff accuses her of not caring about him any other time and sleeps alone in the office. Meredith tries to apologize to her husband the next morning, but he’s already gone.

At work, Meredith calls Dr. Burns, who tells her he and the Parkview staff can’t diagnose Anya with dementia or Alzheimer’s. He suggests a senior complex in Wenatchee for Anya to live in. Meredith drives to Belye Nochi and tells Nina she needs to talk to her and Anya. The women gather in the living room, and Meredith tells them about the senior complex and how it could benefit Anya. Anya agrees with the plan because she knows it will make things easier for Meredith. She then goes to her bedroom and slams the door.

The two sisters argue about whether this is the best choice for their mother. Meredith leaves in anger and returns to her house. She calls out for Jeff, but he doesn’t respond. When Jeff appears, she is sitting in front of the fire, reflecting on a painful memory of her and her mother. He tells his wife he’s leaving her, saying they need some time apart. Meredith lets him go, refusing to let her emotions show. He asks if she still loves him, and when she doesn’t answer, Jeff tells her she’s just like her mother and leaves.

Nina showers and goes downstairs, finding Anya in the kitchen. Anya offers Nina a shot of vodka with dinner. They work together to make dinner and sit at the table. Nina asks her mother questions, but Anya’s responses are short and curt, so they eat silently. Eventually, Nina demands that they talk, so she tells her mother three facts about herself. Anya responds in kind, and then gets up from the table and goes to her bedroom.

The next morning, Meredith is still reeling from Jeff’s departure. Since it’s Saturday, she goes to Belye Nochi instead of work. She enters the kitchen and sees dirty dishes, which makes her angry. Nina enters the room, and they talk about Nina’s dinner with their mother last night. Meredith then begins packing Anya’s belongings, but Nina refuses to help because she disagrees with sending their mother away. Meredith starts in the kitchen, and Anya appears, stating that Meredith and Nina aren’t close and that they will regret it when she’s gone.

Nina makes tea and toast for her mother and takes it to her room. She asks Anya to tell the fairy tale, but her mother ignores her. Nina tries again at lunch, but Anya leaves the room. That evening, Nina cooks a pot roast for dinner, and all three women eat together, starting with a shot of vodka. Nina shares three facts about herself like she did last night, as do Anya and Meredith.