Bridget Gallagher
Bridget
Gallagher first makes an appearance in Hearts Desires:
Bridget Gallagher was an amazon. Six-foot-three in her stocking feet, she towered over most men and with her bulky yet fit frame, could take on most of them and win. She had flaming red hair sometimes dyed blonde that fell to her shoulders in a perpetual frizz, blue eyes and a pale complexion that burned repeatedly during the summer months. She could not be called beautiful or even attractive, but her size and coloring usually made her the focal point in any social situation. Her nose was slightly bulbous, but her cheekbones were high and chiseled, and she had generous, pouting lips.
Her physical body was large-boned but taut, which in part was due to her work on the construction crew for Larkin City. She worked hard during spring, summer and early autumn, but spent winters at her small house on Elm Road. Her parents died in a car accident shortly after she graduated from high school in 1991, after which she was left to her own devices in the home she had been raised in, alone for the most part.
Bridget loved wintertime. She had plenty of money to live on from her city construction salary, and loved nothing better than spending her time reading mysteries and crime dramas, cooking, ice-fishing and tending to her menagerie of six formerly stray cats: Buffy, Noel, Gene, Rhoda, Kermit and Lance. She also frequented the Coven every weekend whether she was working or not, and was a familiar and welcome sight at the club. She was loud, bubbly and self-assured, especially after a few gin and tonics, but she was also a down-to-earth and kind-hearted woman to her core. She brooked no foolishness from men, letting no one dominate her, and was known to have dated frequently over the years but without a lasting romance.
In high school she had been obese, which was where Brose Larkin first took notice of her. While the butt of many cruel jokes because of her weight, no one dared taunt her to her face because of her otherwise intimidating presence. By her senior year, Bridget had thinned although she never lost the impression of size because of her big-boned frame. She took an interest in sports, excelling at girls basketball and football. Brose knew her casually, but never looked upon her in a romantic light. His predictable type consisted of petite blondes and the occasional raven-haired beauty.
But Brose Larkin, son of Sean Larkin and the ill-fated Marianne Chamberlain, suddenly takes notice of Bridget:
Bridget arrived at the Coven on a Friday night in June 1996, dressed in tight blue jeans and a bright yellow tank-top. The shirt gave display to her nicely muscled arms and generous breasts, and emphasized her frizzy dyed-blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She loved to play pool, and after ordering a gin and tonic, engaged a few local lads in several paying games.
She hardly noticed when Brose Larkin walked into the Coven with his cousin Jamie Page an hour later. Being a lifelong resident of Larkin City, Bridget was not overawed or impressed with the local founding family and their wealth. In fact, she never thought about them at all.
After winning a few billiard games – and tucking away the winnings in her jeans back pocket - Bridget went to the bar and ordered another gin and tonic. She felt good, only slightly buzzed, satisfied that her reputation as a pool shark was intact. Brose sat with Jamie at the bar, both of them nursing beers and deep in quiet discussion.
Brose glanced at Bridget as she ordered another drink. She nodded in recognition, but said nothing. She tapped her fingertips on the oaken bar, waiting as the bartender mixed her gin and tonic. Jamie excused himself to use the men's room, leaving Brose alone momentarily.
His proximity to Bridget forced Brose to make small talk. "I see you're still cleaning house at the pool table," he said to her.
Bridget looked at him, surprised that he was addressing her. True to form, she recovered quickly. "Some nights are quicker than others," she replied politely. "The locals know me too well, but when someone new comes in it's a lot easier."
"How so?" Brose wanted to know.
Bridget grinned. "Most men assume women don't know how to play pool. Their assumptions are to my benefit."
He laughed. "True."
Brose was suddenly struck by Bridget's smile, and the ease and confidence in which she handled herself. He was used to lovely, frail creatures full of insecurities and vicious jealousies. Bridget was not a great beauty, but she was like a breath of fresh air. He had never really paid her any mind in the past – she was just there – but suddenly his interest was piqued and he wasn't sure why. Brose found himself thinking about Bridget later. She would pop into his head unbidden, whereupon he tried to dismiss all thoughts of her. He was puzzled by his own behavior, wondering why she kept reappearing in his fanciful line of vision where he had never given her fleeting notice before now.
Brose Larkin finds himself falling in love with the tom-boyish Bridget, who bests him at every turn. Despite having known her since high school, she is the antithesis of his ideal woman in her simple attire and direct manner. Brose knows he has met his ultimate match in Bridget Gallagher.
Bridget forms a strong bond with Brose's mother Dana Larkin and his aunt, Shannon Larkin. Brose is somewhat bemused by the newly-forged and unlikely threesome, but not displeased by it. "Are you sure you have time for me?" he teased Bridget. "I'd hate to take you away from Dana and Auntie Shannon."
"They are both such wonderful women," Bridget enthused. "I feel like a sponge around Shannon, soaking in her knowledge and taking stock of her observations. She is very unique, Brose, but I'm sure you're already well aware of that. And your stepmother has been nothing but kind to me, telling me little things about you when you were a child. I know this may sound odd, but Dana and Shannon are more like best girlfriends to me rather than wise village matrons."
Shannon and Dana decide Bridget would be the best person to take over Harbor View Catering, the late Carly O'Reilly's business venture. Bridget leaves the road construction crew and begins to plan and cater parties and other events around Larkin City, a career change she relishes. However, she is leery of marriage and avoids the subject for as long as possible. Despite her reluctance to make things "official," Bridget's relationship with Brose Larkin progresses, culminating with their wedding ten years after their first meeting, and the birth of their daughter Tara.
Bridget appears in Hearts Desires, The Twilight and Megan's Legacy.
Excerpts from Hearts Desires ©Deidre Dalton. All rights reserved. Books in the Collective Obsessions Saga by Deidre Dalton may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the author. All eight books in the saga are works of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
*Author's Note: The physical appearance of Bridget Gallagher is based on American actress Diane Delano. The image is not meant to be indicative of true personality traits of a real person, but rather a general idea of what I envisioned as the "outer shell" of a fictional character.
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