He remembered that most of her mysteries remained the secret of herself and those involved for decades, until the autobiography came out. Any more slips like that, and he would have a lot of explaining to do. He thought of the one mystery that had made its way into the papers along with the revelation of her involvement in it, albeit with little interest from the locals at the time, and decided that it would cover his accidental slip.

“There was that time you solved that case about the school clock tower being used as a place for smugglers to hide their goods,” said Andy.
“You remember that?”

“I read it somewhere,” he said truthfully, although he was not refering to the newspaper account of it that had come out a year earlier than Bonnie’s current case.

“There wasn’t even a picture of me in that arcticle. I didn’t think that anyone had taken much notice of it,” she said.

“I did. I’ve always wanted to meet you. I’d ask you over, but my parents don’t know I’m here. I sort of snuck out, in order to come to this place.”

“Well you’re the bravest boy I’ve ever been on a case with,” she said, “Would you like to come to my school formal next Saturday night?”

“I’d like that very much. What time does it start?”

“Seven o’clock. I’ll be there at 6:30.”

“I’ll meet you out the front of your school gates.”

“I suppose I’d better be getting home, now that I’ve solved the mystery tonight.”

“I’ll stay here a while, just to think over the experience,” he said.

When she’d gone, he returned to his time machine and his own time.

The following Saturday morning’s garage sale provided him with suitable evening attire for decades past, and he found a bouquet of flowers at the shops, which would be travelling back many years before they had ever been grown soon enough.

He was waiting outside the front of Bonnie’s school by 6:15 in the Saturday night of decades earlier, and gave her the flowers.

Her face bubbled with sweetness as she thanked him, and then offered him her hand. Nothing could be nicer than this, he thought, as they began walking along the school path.

“I never told you which school I went to,” she said, “How did you know?”

“It must have been in that article about the mystery you solved here, since it was your school where the smugglers were temporarily concealing their loot,” he said, heaving another inward sigh of relief as he inwardly thanked the smugglers for unwittingly helping him.

Maybe one day he would tell her about his time machine and his having come from the future. For now, he didn’t want to risk spoiling the greatest night of his life with any complications.

They walked into the school hall and he poured her a glass of punch. They nibbled from the assortment of food on the tables, and talked until the dancing started. First the music was fast, and he could hardly believe that he was here, with Bonnie twirling and swaying around in front of him, as they enjoyed tunes which he’d also collected in many a second hand record from garage sales.