Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly Hardback - 2006

by Robert Dalby

An irresistible Southern charmer about small-town gossip, second-chance romance, strange weather, and ballroom dancing in the most unlikely places.

Laurie Lepanto is on the horns of a dilemma. Her favorite market, the Piggly Wiggly, of Second Creek, Mississippi, is on the verge of closing its doors, nearly done in by a new Mega-Mart across town. Over the years, the Piggly Wiggly has been more than a supermarket-it's been a community center and town hall, and it's even seen a little romance blossom in its aisles.

Laurie-who has never met a problem she can't solve- is determined to help Mr. Choppy, the Piggly Wiggly's manager, keep his business afloat. She enlists her fellow "Nitwitts,"a formidable array of the town's most influential widows, and the town's most eligible silver fox, Powell Hampton, a sixtysomething widower and former ballroom dance instructor. For two hours a week, Powell will waltz-or fox-trot or tango-at the Piggly Wiggly with Second Creek's ladies while the salesclerks do their shopping for them.

In a place like Second Creek, where everyone knows everyone, waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly soon becomes the town's most festive event. And after a few turns around the floor with the handsome and charming Powell, Laurie soon begins to make plans for romance as well as civic renewal.