What does the moving and shifting of the family's sleeping arrangements represent in the novel, The Unpassing?

Throughout the novel, the location of the family's beds and sleeping arrangements acts as a symbol of the family's emotional state. In their home in Anchorage, the parents sleep in one bedroom, and the three children share the den. Their arrangement of beds changes first when Ruby dies. Soon after Ruby's death, Gavin and Pei-Pei move their beds so they are closer together, and they whisper to each other sometimes during the night. In Chapter 11, the children have pushed all of their small beds together to make more open space in the room. When they move to Seattle, the mother sleeps in the same room as the boys, sometimes speaking with them about what happened during her day, and leaving Pei-Pei her own room. Throughout the novel, intimate conversations occur at nighttime and in beds. Under the cover of nighttime and the vulnerable state of sleep, the family is better able to discuss their emotions.