Winter Garden

Meredith suppresses her grief and tries to carry on as usual, keeping busy to distract herself. When the holidays are over and her daughters return to college, she goes to Belye Nochi to help her mother. Her mother is at the formal dining room table, surrounded by jewelry and muttering to herself in Russian. Grief has changed Anya’s beautiful face, and she tells Meredith they need to sell the jewelry because they’ll stop handing out money soon. Meredith walks her confused mother upstairs, telling her she’ll take care of her. Meredith puts Anya to bed and decides she’ll work from the house today because of her mother’s strange behavior.

By the end of January, Meredith is exhausted. She works hard to keep her promise to her father to care for her mother, but it’s taking a toll on her already-strained marriage. One day, Meredith leaves work to have lunch at Belye Nochi. When she arrives, she sees Anya sitting in the winter garden without a coat or shoes. Meredith takes her into the kitchen and feeds her. Anya calls Meredith “Olga,” convincing Meredith that her mother needs to see a doctor.