Turtle Heart was happier than he had ever been in Quadling Country. Ever since coming to stay with the Thropps, he had spent every morning blowing glass and making toys for little Elphaba, every afternoon making love to Melena, and every evening in long religious discussions with Frexspar. So far, each of these endeavors had succeeded. Elphaba had not managed to break any of her new toys and enjoyed them anyway; Frexspar didn't suspect a thing about his wife and Turtle Heart; and no matter how Frexspar tried, he couldn't convert Turtle Heart from his Quadling beliefs, however vague and ridiculous they might have been.
Yes, things were going quite well for Turtle Heart. Even his English was improving. Munchkinland was nothing like Quadling Country. There was no running in terror from industry here. But every time he thought about his homeland, Turtle Heart felt a nagging in the back of his simple mind. He was supposed to be traveling to Ozma's court to appeal for his country to be spared, but why would he want to leave this place when it was unlikely that he ever be so happy again if he did? He felt like he belonged here. Melena was a beauty quite unlike Quadling women, Frexspar considered him as a friend and talked to him often, and Elphaba called him 'Daddy' more than she did Frexspar.
Quadlings didn't understand intense emotions like hate, but if they did, Turtle Heart would have wondered why Frexspar didn't hate him when he had stolen both his wife and his child. He would have wondered what his own family was doing in Quadling Country. He would have wondered about when he was going to leave this place. And most of all, he would have wondered when Melena was going to tell her husband that she was pregnant.