A major part of Opal’s story is about how life shits on you, and instead of choosing bitter and angry, you can choose to be kind and warm.
Opal does get shit on in the past and present. Her parents love her but don’t fit her emotional needs as a child. Her partner for over ten years emotionally manipulates her, and she finally gains the strength to leave him after an ultimate betrayal.
Opal has been, in many ways, on her own for a very long time.
But she still chooses to kind and warm.
Now...she isn’t without fault. She jumps to conclusions, hates to be wrong and takes a while for her to admit being wrong, and can be a little judgmental/makes judgments based on appearances.
When she and Donald meet, they barely know each other. Donald knows of her. He remembers from when he was a child, but Opal was with her mother most of the time.
While Donald didn’t know how to meet up with her, Opal always knew how to contact Donald. And they know it.
((In Custody, Opal may make an appearance for Matilda...not Della or Donald, and that’s how things are. She’s the only family member she’s close to.))
It’s about not just reconnecting/reconciling with her parents. It’s about becoming a better family member and realizing family’s darn important.
Good thing they seem to get along fine anyways.