Episode: 1
Monica explains her career as an architect and her wish to build her own home. She remembers studying by a window next to a maple tree in her grandfather's courtyard house. That building has sat empty for twenty years. When she tells her husband Alan West that she wants to fix it up, he calls it a dump. He demands she sell it, argues with her, and walks out for a business dinner.
Monica sits in her modern architecture office. She talks about her work designing buildings for other people. She explains that she still longs to design a home of her own after spending years working in her field.
A flashback takes Monica back to her childhood. Young Monica sits by a window inside her grandfather's old courtyard house. She studies her schoolwork beside a large maple tree that grows in the yard outside.
Monica reflects on her years of schooling and her marriage. She looks out toward the courtyard and notes that her grandfather's beloved old house has remained empty for twenty years. The neglected building now sits in disrepair.
In the dining room, Monica tells Alan West she wants to fix the old house. Alan insults the building, calls her stubborn, and tells her to sell it. He cuts the conversation short and heads out to a dinner.
“What's the point of fixing up that dump just sell it”
“I wouldn't sell”
“Monica you're 40 not 20 stop being so stubborn”
“I have a business dinner tonight”
Alan walks out the door for his business meeting. Monica stays behind at the table by herself, quietly sipping her cold soup. Will Monica give up on her grandfather's courtyard house, or will she move forward with her renovation plans despite Alan's harsh refusal to support her?