Steve's Pillow

http://wellfedmuse.blogspot.com/2011/02/writing-prompt-your-lovers-pillow.html

Steve's Pillow: It isn't one pillow, but 3 or 4. In various positions squished against one another to make a giant sculpture next to his head. You would think that he wouldn't care what kind or how fluffy the pillows were. He takes two at a time and folds them up under one arm, then grabs one or two more that he uses to prop up his head into a painful 90 degree angle. Each pillow must be soft, but not too soft. It is OK to have one pillow in a plain cotton case, but the others must be inside flannel cases, or combed cotton. The color doesn't matter, so he will have various shades of white pillow cases mixed together. I do not like the pillow sculpture that takes up three quarters of the bed. His pillows creep slowly into my face and ears, the points of the cases poking me in the middle of the night. I am slowly pushed closer to the edge of the bed and wake up each morning between his pillows and a cliff of empty space. When I ask him why he needs so many pillows, he replies, "I can't sleep with only one pillow. I don't know how people do that!" He is annoyed by my question. I am annoyed by the non answer. It is as if he wants the bed to himself and uses the pillows to get what he wants. HE isn't pushing me off the bed, the PILLOWS are. He has no control over the mass of pillows. As the years have progressed, the number of pillows has increased. He sleeps in awkward positions so he can feel each pillow tight against his head or chest. Sometimes I remind him that I am in the same bed and he can squeeze me if he would like. I am pillowy too. But, there is something infantile about his pillows that remind him of simpler times. When he wakes up in the morning he is refreshed and able to put on serious clothes and deal with the intense workday. I am exhausted. I am defending my territory every night waking up every 1 or 2 hours. But,.... While I am home during the day, I take his pillows and throw them on the floor. All but one pillow remains.... My pillow. Just for me. No one to push me off the bed, just a bed and my pillow. Ahhh......