The tarot-weilding, psychic-contacting, tacky-dressing, loud-mouthed, straight-talking, meddling Opal has always been a slight embarassment to her son. Poor Opal couldn't handle raising and sheilding two children from her psychotic husband, Ray Gardner. Her son Tad, who was named after a Ouija board reading, took much of the maniac's abuse, eventually being abandoned in a park with a broken arm.
Opal blew into Pine Valley the summer of 1981 with her sweet Jenny. Tad's momma was as tasteless as ever. She feigned a heart condition so that her daughter could support her. Forcing Jenny to work at Foxy's Bar.
Jenny fell in love with Greg Nelson and Opal couldn't be happier, but would embarass the poor girl in front of him. With the assistance of Liza Colby and Enid Nelson, Jenny's self worth took an tumble and she wrote Greg a "Dear John" letter breaking up with him because he was too good for her. Jenny told her mom she broke up with Greg so that she could pursue her modeling career... then Liza went and rigged the Miss Junior PV contest beating Jenny. Opal suspected foul play. Grilled the judges and had Phoebe reverse the decision and crown Jenny. Opal worked as Phoebe and Langley's maid... but started an affair with Langley. She demaned that he divorce Phoebe and marry her. Langley refused, so Opal blackmailed him into continuing to be her mealticket. Opal also ran for office... LMAO.
Ray blackmailed Opal into giving him a job at the Glamorama, her beauty salon. Back there, he constructed a bomb that exploded injuring him. Opal eventually left PV in 1983.
She returned in 1989, at Palmer Cortlandt's insistance. Her marriage had broken up and Palmer needed her help in breaking up her son and his neice. The two underminded Tad and Dixie's relationship. Opal moved into Tad and Dixie's loft apartment and proceded to decorate it in horrendous yellow/black plaid. Formica explosion. When Tad asked (none too nicely) that she take a hike...she faked a back injury. She was convinced that such a plain, simple girl-next-door like Dixie would never keep Tad satisfied. He needed a woman of substance, mover and shaker. Opal and Palmer's plan eventually succeeded.
But Opal was smitten by the old curmudgeon. Palmer did his best to avoid her, but it was no good. Palmer paid Sean Cudahy to get Opal out of his hair... but that didn't work too well. Then Opal dated and even got engaged to Stan Ulatowski (Uly, Mr. U)Palmer's toady. Mr. U didn't want to lose Opal to PC... so he tried to poison him! When Palmer's ex-wife Daisy saw the sparks between Opal and PC, she put her matchmaking talents to use. Daisy helped to "refine" Opal, gave her grace, charm... or at least tried to. The old coot fell for her too and they wed in 1990 after Opal's case of the jitters nearly stopped the wedding. Superstitious as ever, she was convinced that the ghost of her lover Clem Boykins was warning her off PC because she would "love him to death" just as she did Clem. LMAO.
Opal had long since accepted Dixie as her son's true love and tried to help the couple as much as she tried to hinder them the first go around. When Tad "died", Opal was very supportive to her former daughter-in-law. A bit too supportive because of the fact that Opal never believed that Tad was dead. She was convinced that God would not take both her children. She felt it when Jenny died, but with Tad she didn't... he was alive. She knew it. It's just that everyone else gave up and kept telling her she was nuts.
Opal became pregnant with little Petey soon thereafter but PC wouldn't beleive he was the father. It was preposterous! Palmer's Polo injury had left his plumbing clogged. Not so, Opal provided the dastardly coot wrong with a DNA test and proved the child was his.
When Tad returned to town, shortly after the birth of his baby brother, he floated a loan to PC under the guise of a dummy corp: P.E.A. Inc. (Pigeon Eaters Anonymous). Palmer had a heart attack and guess who was there to perform CPR, Tad! Unfortunately PC couldn't meet the terms of the loan and Tad extended the loan time and time until the Orsini board had to be dealt with. Tad forclosed on Palmer's holdings... including Cortlandt Electronics. (Quite a tidy sum considering that 3 years earlier Palmer had taken over all of Adam Chandler's holdings... Tad was now rolling in it.) Palmer was forced to take a job as manager of the local Cluck Cluck Chicken Shack. Soon, he owned it... and the franchise thanks to Opal's secret green, yes green! Purdified chicken. With her help he was able to rebuild his empire and eventually (though no one ever explained how!) regained Cortlandt Electronics.
Opal has taken Palmer back, oh... I think 2 times already. (at least)
* When he had his heart attack.
* When he cheated on her with Janet Green.
Will she take him back after all the junk with the stolen Nazi paintings ends? Will she want him back, because he's such a liar. Keeping Dixie's illness from Tad just may be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back. She's wise to him now... we'll see.
