Some days there's pie

the long version

"Ruth Ritchie elopes with Chuck, a stereo salesman, thinking that she has found her ticket out of Summerville, Tennessee, where her future means selling pies at Durwood's Hardware. But Chuck "gets religion," and Ruth, who cherishes her freedom more than safety, buys a used car and heads north.". "When Ruth faints from hunger at a North Carolina five-and-dime, Rose, a feisty elderly reporter, rescues her. A friendship stronger than family ties blossoms. For all her bravado, unsentimental Ruth can never quite disguise her need for a mother's love. In Ruth, Rose finds someone who refuses to see old age as a handicap and gives her life new purpose."--BOOK JACKET.