Shay stopped what he was doing and let the corner of the mattress flop onto the ground.

“I’m trying to take it off. Can I put it in your room for awhile? On the side of your bed? I want to sleep near you but now you and Carmen can have your bed back and I still get to be right next to you guys!” He smiled proudly at his solution.

Shane didn’t respond, she just walked over to the bed and grabbed the top part of the mattress. It wasn’t hard to move—it was only a twin.

“Yay!” Shay yelled as he flopped himself on top of it while Shane dragged it down the hallway.

Shay instructed her where to put it and then when Shane was fixing the sheets on it, Shay remembered something he forgot in his room. He came back with a piece of paper and markers.

“Shane do you know how to make a calendar?”

“Uh, yeah I guess so. Why?”

“Cause I need one. Can you help me?”

“You sure we can’t do this tomorrow or something? It’s getting close to your bed time.”

“No! I need to do it now! Dr. Soden said you would let me!”

Shane had no clue what the hell he was talking about but he had stomped his foot and was now in tears.

“Ok, Ok. Give me the piece of paper.”

He sniffled and handed it to her. She drew a grid and put the days of the weeks on it and everything.

“Ok where is today?”

Shane pointed to the first Thursday.

“Ok. I need you to write ‘Shay moves his bed into Carmen and Shane’s room’ on the box for Thursday.”

“I don’t think it’s going to fit in that tiny spot, bud.”

“Ok, ok. Just put ‘my bed is in my parents’ room’. Will that fit?”

Shane froze. She didn’t know how to respond. Shay said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world. She was worried that he would start to see them as parents and then get taken away—not to mention that they weren’t his parents, not even close. Plus she kind of like being his big sister–although she had to admit that the relationship had been more parent-child then brother-sister.

“Shaneeeee. Earth to Shane! Will that fit?”

“Uh yeah. I think that will fit.”

“Ok now go to one week from now. Go to that Thursday box.” He pointed.

“And put ‘I move my bed by their door’.”

Shane wrote what she was instructed. She finally understood what he was doing. It was interesting to see how his mind worked and how he went about solving problems. Carmen and her hadn’t asked him any questions about therapy, but after Dr. Soden told them about how they worked on the sleeping arrangement thing this week, it now made sense about the plan the two had come up with. She had to admit—it was pretty cute to watch Shay be so meticulas about his whole plan.

“Ok now go a week after that and put ‘My bed is just outside their door’. And then a week after that write ‘My bed is just inside my door’.”

They hung it up on the wall with tape and Shay stared at it proudly—Shane was pretty proud too. Not to mention ecstatic about getting her room back in less than a month. Shane grabbed the Captain Underpants book that they had been reading at night and laid down next to him to read it. After they were done, Shane turned off the light and stayed with him for a bit until he fell asleep.

“Shane?”

“Yeah, bud?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Shay.”