It had been two weeks and Barlow had been unsuccessful at finding out anything else about the girl he had briefly met at the Busy Bee. He had even gone onto the college campus after a meeting he had in Sheridan two days ago. He found a bench in a shady location and spent some time there to see if he might be able to catch a glimpse of her between classes with no luck. He had to get her out his head. The distraction was causing him to get careless and he had cut himself doing some work around the house while daydreaming about being with her. Being a bachelor he didn't have a band-aid much less a first aid kit so he wrapped an old t-shirt around his hand to curb the bleeding and drove into town to the drug store for some antibiotic ointment and bandages. He was able to quickly find what he was looking for and took it up to the counter. It was a great surprise when he reached the register and found himself face to face with Martha.

"Hello! I was about to think I wouldn't run into you again."

"Hello!" She took in the bloody fabric around his hand and the items he had placed on the counter, "Oh no, what happened?"

"Oh, I was working on some things around the house and cut myself. It's no big deal."

"Here, why don't you go ahead and get yourself bandaged up and then you can pay for everything." She cautiously looked around the empty store, "We're not supposed to let people do this, but why don't you come back to the bathroom so you can wash up. It will give you a better view of the cut so you can see what you're doing."

She led him back behind the counter and down a short hallway to the employee bathroom before heading back up to keep an eye on the store. He unwrapped his hand and tossed the stained shirt into the trashcan. He rinsed off the dried blood and saw that the cut was still bleeding. He dried his hand off with a paper towel and tore open the 4x4 gauze pads. Laying them on his hand he took the first aid tape, opened it and struggled to wrap it around his hand without the pads sliding off. The end result wasn't very secure and he realized it wasn't putting enough pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. He pulled it all off and started again. He repeated the same pattern twice becoming more frustrated with each attempt.

Martha came back down the hallway and peeked her head in the open door, "Are you doing okay in here?"

He looked at her sheepishly, "Not really. I, uh, am having a hard time getting the tape wrapped tightly enough without the bandages shifting." He held up his left hand and wiggled the fingers, "I can only use one hand."

She pursed her lips and looked at the wad of ruined supplies in the trash, "Is it okay if I help you? It looks like it will save you some money on bandages." Her eyes twinkled in amusement.

"Sure, I would appreciate that." He was a little embarrassed at needing help but welcomed the opportunity to be close to her.

"Okay, here let me..."

Martha was very gentle as she wiped Barlow's hand. "Are you sure you don't need stitches? That cut looks pretty deep."

"Nah, I don't need stitches."

"Okay." She sounded skeptical but finished dressing the wound, "There, how does that feel?"

"Good, and I think it will hold much better than what I was able to do."

"Well good, I'm hoping to make a career of doing things like this some day." She looked up at him, "I want to be a nurse."

"Well if that's your goal then this is probably a better job for you than waiting tables."

"Yes it is, Mr. Taylor offered me the position here after I waited on him at the Busy Bee. He said he was impressed with my customer service skills. So, he hired me part-time. I work the counter and do deliveries for him a few afternoons a week and every Saturday."

She and Barlow walked back up to counter and he paid for the first aid supplies.

"Thank you for your help. My name's Barlow by the way."

"Oh, I know who you are Mr. Connally, I imagine most people in Durant do."

"Please, lose the Mr. You can call me Barlow."

She was hesitant, "Okay, Well, my name's Martha, Martha Gilbreath."

"It's nice to meet you Martha. Thanks again for your help!"

"You're welcome."

Barlow had been very satisfied as he headed back home. He felt he had laid a good foundation with Martha Gilbreath. He knew her name and where he could find her and he could begin his pursuit of her, away from the watchful eyes of Dorothy over at the Busy Bee.