Larry enjoys a peaceful daily routine with Mother while Father is away at war.

Larry names his feet Mrs Left and Mrs Right and invents dramatic morning adventures with them.

Larry prays each morning for Father's return and wishes for a baby sibling.

Father returns home permanently from the war, bringing a collection of military souvenirs.

Larry discovers Father occupying the big bed and grasps that he is home for good.

Larry kicks Father repeatedly in the big bed to force him to give up more space.

Larry asks Mother if Father could be called away to fight in another war.

Mother extracts a promise from Larry not to enter the bedroom mornings so Father can rest.

Father wakes in a panic and stares at the door rather than looking at Mother.

Father loses his temper and physically punishes Larry for repeatedly disrupting his sleep.

Mother becomes pregnant, grows irritable, and stops taking Larry on their morning walks.

Sonny is born and Mother shifts all her attention to the new baby.

Larry pinches baby Sonny while Mother is not looking.

Father is displaced from the big bed by Sonny's constant nighttime crying.

Father climbs into Larry's bed at night and the two form a genuine bond.

The story begins with five-year-old Larry enjoying peaceful mornings alone with his mother while his father fights in the war. Father's permanent return disrupts Larry's routines and ignites a fierce rivalry for Mother's attention, including battles over the big bed. The conflict escalates when Larry disrupts Father's sleep and triggers a panic response rooted in war trauma, leading to physical punishment. Mother's pregnancy and the birth of baby Sonny shift the family dynamic further, displacing both Larry and eventually Father from Mother's focus. Unexpectedly, Sonny's arrival becomes the catalyst that unites Larry and his father, as both find themselves on the outside of Mother's affection. The two bond together in Larry's bed, with Larry offering the same comfort his mother once gave him, completing his journey from rivalry to compassion.

Larry's rivalry with his father from homecoming to reconciliation.

Mother arranges for the nuns at the local convent to pray for Father's safe return.

Larry catalogs Father's souvenirs including Gurkha knives, bullet-case handles, German helmets, and cap badges.

Larry notices Father has swapped his army uniform for a plain shabby cap, which disappoints him.

Mother tells Larry he must not touch Father's military toys without being given permission first.

After Larry enters the bedroom anyway, Mother offers him a second deal to stay if he stays silent.

Larry rejects Mother's offer and demands to know whose house it is anyway.

Mother stands in her nightdress between Larry and Father, looking as if her heart is broken.

Mother calls Father by his name Mick and tells him the child is simply not used to him.

Mother and Father speak quietly about the household's very low finances, using the word pennies.

Larry and Father begin deliberately interrupting each other as their rivalry for Mother's attention escalates.

Larry tries to win Mother's affection by imitating Father and pretending to smoke.

Larry declares aloud that if another baby comes into the house he will leave.

Father overhears Larry's outburst about the baby and responds with unexpected laughter.

Mother's visible joy with Sonny leaves Larry feeling replaced and growing resentful toward her.

Father gives Larry a model train set at Christmas, a gift chosen specifically for him.

While Larry's rivalry with Father drives the main story, quieter moments reveal the full picture of this family's difficult adjustment. Mother's devotion extends to arranging prayers at the local convent for Father's return, and Father's military souvenirs tell the story of a man struggling to transition from soldier to parent. Financial pressure runs beneath every interaction, surfacing in hushed conversations about pennies that Larry cannot fully understand. The escalating competition between Larry and Father plays out through deliberate interruptions and Larry's failed attempt to win Mother's favor by imitating his father. Sonny's arrival reshapes the family once more, triggering a fresh cycle of displacement that mirrors everything that came before. Father's Christmas gift of a model train set, chosen specifically for Larry rather than from his own collection, signals their hard-won new understanding.

The household details and quieter moments shaping the family's adjustment.

Larry recognizes that Father's brief wartime visits never truly threatened his bond with Mother.

Larry gets exactly what he has prayed for in Father's return but is immediately made miserable by it.

Larry first subjects Father to the same interruptions and complaints he has always used on Mother.

Mother's insistence that Father's sleep takes priority marks the first clear shift in Larry's standing at home.

Larry breaks his promise and enters the bedroom anyway, unable to accept the new household rules.

Larry strikes the sleeping Father and unknowingly triggers a traumatic panic response connected to the war.

Mother swiftly removes Larry from the bedroom, shielding him from the full extent of Father's distress.

Larry loses his privileged place beside Mother in the big bed as Father's authority is enforced.

Larry reflects that Father's absence during the pregnancy has done nothing to restore his bond with Mother.

Larry recognizes that Mother's behavior with Sonny mirrors exactly how she cared for him during the war.

Father retreats from Sonny's crying into Larry's room, signaling a new shift in the family's power.

Father asks Larry whether he is asleep either, creating their first moment of genuine mutual understanding.

Larry understands that Father has been turned out of the big bed in the same way he once was.

Larry pats Father and repeats the comforting words Mother once used to soothe Larry himself.

Larry accepts sleeping beside Father as very bony but better than nothing, fully embracing their new bond.

The emotional arc of the story is built on a series of realizations Larry experiences as his world is slowly upended. Larry begins secure in his bond with Mother, barely threatened by Father's brief wartime visits, but grasps too late that the permanent return has changed everything for good. Each confrontation — breaking his promise, losing his place in the bed, failing to reclaim Mother during the pregnancy — reveals a deeper truth about the difference between possessing attention and being genuinely loved. The arrival of Sonny forces a painful new parallel into view as Larry watches Mother transfer her care once again, recognizing his own past behavior reflected in the crying baby. Father's nighttime retreat into Larry's room offers the turning point Larry did not know he needed. In choosing to comfort rather than compete, Larry completes his emotional journey from possessive child to compassionate son.

The key emotional realizations that drive Larry's growth from rivalry to empathy.

Frank O'Connor

Short Story

Fiction

Guide