Barry was already half asleep by the time he got into bed. His mum tucked him in while his dad stood by. It had been a long time since both his parents had put him to bed – but then it had been a big day. It had been a big week.
Barry stretched out, luxuriating in being back in his own bed. As he did so, his hand went under the pillow, like it always did.
“Mum? Dad?”
“Yes?” they said together softly.
“There was a bit of paper under the pillow…”
Geoff frowned. But Susan said: “Oh yes! Sorry. I was cleaning your room – it didn’t really need cleaning, but I wanted… you know… to keep cleaning it. I did it every day while you were in the hospital just in case, and… Anyway, yesterday I was airing your sheets out and this bit of paper – with some writing on it? – flew up from underneath the pillow and out of the window. I tried to grab it, but couldn’t. Sorry, darling. Was it important?”
Barry shook his head and smiled. “No,” he said. “Not important at all.” And let his head drop back on to the pillow.
He saw his parents smile at each other. Then, he said one more thing. Very quietly. Very sleepily.
“This has been the best birthday I’ve ever had,” he said. “And you are the best parents in the world…”
For a moment, it looked like his mum might cry. Which would have meant quite a lot of tears as his dad was already crying. But also smiling. At the same time.
“Thank you, Barry,” he said.
“Yes, thank you,” said his mum, coming back to kiss him once more on the forehead. “Now get some sleep…”
“I will,” he said.
They went out and shut the door.
As they did so, the room began to shake. The shaking stirred Barry. He opened his eyes and thought he saw something.
It may have been a trick of the light washing across the wall from the lorry trundling down the A41 outside. But on the far wall his poster of Lionel Messi seemed to do a thumbs up; and he could swear that James Bond raised his eyebrow… just a little.