Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! Quiz

Answer: Elmwood Springs

The book opens in 1948 in the town of Elmwood Springs, Missouri, where we first meet Dena Nordstrom's family. Dena is the daughter of Gene and Marion Nordstrom. Gene grew up in Elmwood Springs and is the only son of Lodor and Gerta Nordstrom. When Gene was sent to San Francisco for military training in 1943, he met Marion Chapman.

They rushed into marriage as Gene was being sent overseas for active duty. Sadly, he was killed in action. After Dena was born, Marion moved to Elmwood Springs to live with Gene's family.

Answer: Television news show personality

Dena lives in New York City, and is a prominent TV news show personality. With her natural blond hair and blue eyes, she's been described as "The girl next-door." When the book begins, she is not very likeable. She seems very cold and unfeeling. She has a boyfriend, but she really doesn't care for him, staying with him only to assure herself of an escort when needed.

Answer: They are cousins

Dena's father Gene is the son of Gerta Nordstrom. Gerta's sister Ida is Norma's mother.

Answer: Ulcers

Dena was under so much stress trying to make it in network television, she didn't take proper care of herself. She had never learned to cook, so she always ate frozen dinners unless she was invited out for a meal. She also drank frequently. She would get severe pains in her stomach, but ignored them and took a lot of antacids. She ended up paying dearly later!

Answer: Reverend Charles Hamilton

Reverend Charles Hamilton and his wife Peggy were well known for their charity work. Dena's boss, Ira Wallace, wanted to keep the station's ratings high by having Dena do interviews with celebrities. He wanted her to start the interview very innocently, but then ask a question which would be very harmful.

She had already ruined a senator's career, and Dena wasn't about to go along with Ira's orders, as Charles and Peggy were good friends of hers. Ira threatened to fire Dena, but he knew he couldn't, because Dena was too popular and the station ratings would drop if he did.

He ended up cancelling the interview instead. This was where we first started seeing any real feelings from Dena.

Answer: Howard Kingsley

Howard Kingsley was a competing station's top news broadcaster. After Dena refused to do the interview with the Hamiltons, Howard invited Dena to lunch and he and his wife ended up becoming very close friends with her. Of course, the "rumor mill" at the station said she and Howard were having an affair, but that wasn't true at all.

Answer: Gerry O'Malley

Dena was sent to Gerry O'Malley to see if he could find out what was causing her so much stress and also to see why she wasn't sleeping well. Gerry fell in love with Dena on first sight. He was very shy around her, and felt he couldn't help her because of his feelings for her, so he sent her to Elizabeth Diggers, who was a good friend of his.

Answer: She collapsed and nearly died

Dena's cleaning woman came into Dena's apartment one morning and thought Dena had been murdered. There was blood all over, and Dena was unconscious on the floor. It turned out that one of Dena's ulcers had hemorrhaged and she almost bled to death. After emergency surgery, she decided to go back to Elmwood Springs to recuperate; she then decided to give up her job and stay permanently.

It was then we saw the real Dena, who was very loving and caring. She ended up becoming very close to her family, especially Aunt Elner, and marrying Gerry O'Malley.

Answer: Christmas

Dena had spent most of her growing up years in boarding schools. The Christmas she was fifteen, her mother was living in Chicago and working as a sales clerk in a department store. When Dena's train arrived, her mother was not there to meet her. Dena went on to her mother's apartment, and got the manager to let her in.

She stayed a week, expecting her mother to show up any minute, especially since there were several Christmas gifts for her. But the holidays passed, and her mother never came. Dena returned to school and never saw her mother again.

It was a long time later that she found out what had happened to her. This seems to explain Dena's uncaring ways, as she blamed herself for her mother's disappearance.

Answer: She was of African American ancestry

Things sure were different before inter-racial marriages were accepted in the United States! Marion's great grandmother was a mulatto slave from the West Indies. Her daughter married a white man from France. Marion herself had what was referred to as a "drop of Negro blood", but back before African Americans were considered to be fellow human beings, one drop of "Negro blood" automatically made a person "Negro" by law! Marion hid this fact from Dena, fearing it would hurt her chances at success. Marion did not live to see the laws change.

She had been born and raised in Vienna, Austria and had returned there after finding out her brother had died of tuberculosis. That's why she wasn't at home when Dena came for Christmas. Marion, running a very high fever herself, cut her wrists, thinking she could make that drop of blood flow out, and then she and Dena would be safe. Sadly, she killed herself, as no one found her until the next day.