Snow Country part 2

Wow... I am beyond confused at this point!  I'm not really sure what to make of what I just read.  First of all, the change in Komako's character was weird and I didn't really understand why she was so different.  Plus, it seemed like she was drunk for most of the second part of the story.  She was still the same indecisive person as she was in the first part, though.  Komako was still doing the "I'm leaving" game, even though she never did.  I did think that she and Shimamura were cute, the way they bantered with one another.  I actually almost forgot that he had a wife and kids that he just up and left!  I'm not really sure what to think of all the characters, though.  Hopefully our classroom discussion will clarify the whole "crazy" thing between Komako and Yoko, because I have no clue what all that was about.  I also didn't really understand the Milky Way discussion.  I think it was meant to have some significant meaning, but I sure didn't see it.  The fire at the end of the story came out of nowhere too, so that seemed odd to me.  I also would have liked to know what happened in the end.  Did Shimamura go home to his family or stay with Komako?  Because no matter how many time Shimamura tried to deny his feelings for her, I'm pretty much certain that he loved her.