DISCLAIMER: Other than a few episodes I bought on iTunes, I own absolutely nothing related to The Office, neither do I have any relation to anyone involved with the show. (And that makes me kind of sad.)

She doesn’t know why she needs three pillows. One for her head and one on each side. That’s just how she had always slept ever since she was a little girl. She tried weaning herself off of them one by one, but she never slept well that way, so she gave up trying. Maybe it was because three pillows made her feel secure, safe. Maybe she was just weird.

Even when she was with Roy, she needed at least two. Of course, he’d always complain that there wasn’t enough room on the bed for the both of them and a pillow. One night she tried sleeping with just the one under her head, tried cuddling up to Roy. But he just grunted and turned so that his back was facing her. She tossed and turned for hours that night, until finally she just gave in and grabbed her second pillow. And that’s how she slept every night, Roy on her left, and her big, fluffy pillow on the right. At least on the nights he was actually home.

Since she moved out and got her own place, she’s been back to sleeping with her three pillows. But for some reason, those three pillows just didn’t seem to be as comforting as they used to be. She tried getting extra firm pillows, then those long body pillows. Still, something was wrong, missing. Though she never felt quite as rested or secure as she did when she was a kid, sleeping with three pillows was better than tossing and turning all night with just one or two.

One morning she woke up and realized she had forgotten to set up her three pillows. And yet, she realized she didn’t miss them. The next night she remembered, but she only set up two: one under her head, and the other at her right side. The next morning she laughed when she saw that the pillow that had been at her side had somehow ended up on the floor. For the next few nights, she only slept with one pillow, at her head. It didn’t take her long to realize that she didn’t even need that one.

Sleeping next to Jim was better than sleeping with all the pillows in the world.