Safari setting on iPad "Open New Tabs in Background" is not working

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to see the tab bar in Safari, on my iPad, just like on my MacBook.

So, I went to...

Settings >> Safari

...and I turned OFF the setting "Open New Tabs in Background".

Then, the tab bar appeared and every new page that I opened displayed across the tab bar in a new tab, just like I wanted.

Today, I devised that I liked the pages in the background a lot better and I changed the setting to ON.

PROBLEM: the Tab Bar remains, no matter how many pages are open.

What's worse is that, in the menu bar, next to the bookmark and box-arrow icon, the numbered icon is missing (the icon that displays the number of the pages that you have open).

How do I get that icon back and the Tab Bar to disappear?