Snowfall in Venice

The Last Laugh

THE LAST LAUGH

As soon as we boarded the flight, we were treated like arriving royalty. It was obvious The Don had put out the word. To our great surprise, the crew on the big Airbus 330 was the same crew that had served us on our original flight from New York, almost a year ago.

I smiled at our attendant. "Maria, what a coincidence. It's so nice to see you again. Is Captain Victor Moretti also part of the crew?"

She indicated that not only was Captain Moretti at the controls, his co-pilot Gino, the man I had saved with the emergency procedure, was also aboard.

Maria said, "Captain Moretti would like to see you after we have reached our cruising altitude if you are available."

About an hour after takeoff, Maria returned to our seats and said Captain Moretti was ready for a visit. I left Gayle and went forward to the cockpit. Gino didn't remember me because he'd been unconscious as I'd worked on him. Both Gino and the captain thanked me again for my timely medical intervention.

The captain said, "I told Gino he could only eat airline beef again if it has gone through a meat grinder at least twice."

We all laughed, and I asked Captain Moretti if he could advise Maria when we were exactly halfway across the Atlantic. I shook hands again and returned to my seat.

A few hours later, Maria approached the couple, bearing a chilled bottle of champagne. "Doctor Gunderson, the captain said we are exactly halfway across the Atlantic. I have the champagne you asked for." She poured two large glasses and left.

"Well, Mrs. Gunderson, it's time to open the envelope. But before I do, I want you to write down how much you think the donation is."

Gayle remembered that when they opened box #100, it had been almost full. She wrote down one-hundred-twenty-five thousand on the envelope. I smiled and wrote down one hundred and seventy-five thousand. We clinked glasses before opening the envelope. My jaw dropped when I saw the amount.

The check said: "PAYABLE TO , the sum of One Dollar and Zero cents." It was attached to a handwritten note. The note read:

"Don't ever forget. No one steals from Don Benedetti, no one!"

Gayle and I were crushed. All the plans for our new charity, up in smoke. We searched our minds for any possible reason. The Don could have for betraying us but came up with none. I turned to Gayle and said, "I don't know about you, honey, but I'm going to get drunk."

I called Maria and ordered a double martini. Gayle did, too. We gulped them down and ordered another, then sat there in miserable silence.

The captain announced that the plane was almost over Newfoundland and would land in about ninety minutes. As soon as the announcement ended, Maria approached our seat, carrying an elaborately wrapped package.

"Doctor Gunderson, we were instructed to give you this package, ninety minutes before landing."

I looked at Gayle, and she just shrugged. I opened the package and found two smaller boxes and an envelope. One package marked for Gayle and one for me. Gayle opened hers first.

Gayle exhaled a long breath when she saw the contents. Her package contained a finely woven gold necklace, adorned with a gold heart. Inside the heart was the flawless diamond that had been part of the stolen goods taken by the hermit.

I opened my package and was equally stunned. Inside I found an 18-carat gold Rolex watch. It was engraved: TO MARK, WITH THANKS - LORENZO.

Gayle took the envelope, and we slowly opened it together. Inside was a check payable to the Charity. Gayle started to cry when she saw the amount. It was made out to THE ANGELINA CHILDREN'S MEDICAL FOUNDATION. The amount was eight million US dollars.

Another handwritten note accompanied the cheque:

Dear Mark and Gayle,

This cheque represents the total value of the contents of safety deposit boxes #100, #200 and # 300, minus the bearer bonds, which we kept for our account.

We decided that, because it would be impossible ever to trace back the ownership of the goods stolen by the bastard, Cavallo, the best place for the value would be with your new Children's Charity.

Please forgive me for playing the bad joke again. I can't seem to help myself. I only hope Angelina doesn't find out; she would be very upset!

Your friend,

Don Benedetti

Gayle kept crying and couldn't stop until our plane landed safely on the tarmac at Kennedy International Airport. We were finally home again, safe, sound, and happy after an experience we would never forget for the rest of our lives.