The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Hadley pours her heart out to her dad. He seems genuinely concerned and behaves as though he has nowhere else to be, even though it is his wedding day. She feels silly for going to see Oliver and for trying to help him, but her dad reassures her that love defies logic and sense. Hadley tells him that her mom said the same thing, and when he calls Kate a smart lady, Hadley asks why he left the family. He looks defeated and simply says, “I fell in love” (195). Hadley considers Oliver’s comment that her dad had the courage to leave a marriage when he needed to. Hadley wonders if it would have been better if he had come home as planned and left Charlotte behind. She decides that it is impossible to know what might have been, but she does know that her dad is happy now, just as her mom is happy with Harrison. She tells him that she is happy for him, and he asks her to visit him and Charlotte in Oxford.

Violet knocks to give Hadley and Andrew a 30-minute warning. The bridesmaids descend upon Hadley once again, fixing her face and hair.