Ice frozen dreams turned golden

Chapter 6

It was Thursday night when Lizzie was studying again, her desk directly across the window so she could see the moonlight reflecting in her water bottle.

Her clock showed her it was almost time for Joe or Taylor to come in and tell her to go to bed. The girl thought back to her therapy session and what she had discussed with Dr. Galler today.

"Why don't you ask Taylor and Joe about the reason themselves. I guess you will be surprised with the answer."

Lizzie sighed and tried to prepare herself. She had decided that she couldn't wait any longer and just get it over with. She would ask why they always sent her to bed so early. She would just ask whoever came in to tell her it was time to go to bed and tuck her in. In the end, it was just a stupid question, she shouldn't be afraid.

"Lizzie, it's time to go to bed. Put your books away and snuggle into bed so I can tuck you in" Joe interrupted her thoughts, and Lizzie gazed at her alarm clock - it was exactly 9:30.

"I'm coming!" Lizzie immediately replied and got up to put her books into her backpack. She was already in her pajamas and had brushed her teeth as always so she could crawl into bed.

"Can I ask you something, Joe?"

It took so much courage from her to just ask this little question, and in her head, she belittled herself for it. Her mom would have already hated this question because it was a question about asking another question. How stupid. Why did she always have to mess things up?

"Sure, Sweetie," Joe answered calmly though and pulled the blanket around her closer. He smiled at her, and Lizzie tried her hardest to flash him a smile as well but she could sense it wasn't quite working. She was too worried – maybe she shouldn't ask him.

Taylor and Joe did so much for her, every single day. Joe had taken her to her figure skating training after her therapy session today and had cheered her on from the side rinks. He hadn't said a single bad word, even when she couldn't land her Triple Axel today. Did he really deserve to be questioned like this?

But then again, Dr. Galler had told her to ask either Joe or Taylor, and she expected it to be done by their next therapy session, or she would just assign the same homework again. Lizzie knew this from experience.

"Why do you always send me to bed at 9:30?" Lizzie had mumbled it more than she had actually asked it.

She bit her lip and waited for Joe's answer. Would he scream at her for daring to ask such a question? Or belittle her for not properly speaking like her mom? Would he punish her for being rude?

Lizzie squinted her eyes, preparing for the worst when she felt a gentle hand stroking her head.

"You can open your eyes, Lizzie. I'm not mad at you for asking a question. Questions are always allowed here," Joe said, and the girl slowly complied. Now she could see Joe's gentle eyes looking at her, and the slight smile which still danced around his mouth.

"To answer your question: We send you to bed at 9:30 because it's important to get enough sleep. Children your age should sleep at least 8 to 9 hours," Joe explained, and Lizzie raised her eyebrows in surprise. This really wasn't what she had expected him to say.

"So it's not because we annoy you too much? Or because you need some alone time at the end of the day?" Lizzie asked, her fear almost forgotten. She thought about how her mom had sometimes locked her into her bedroom for a day or two because she needed some "alone time".

"No. Absolutely not! We wouldn't have so many kids if we didn't like to spend time with them, did we?" Joe smiled at her again, stroking her hair, "We love you all so much."