The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

“Hadley isn’t a big believer in things like fate or destiny, but then, she’s never been a big believer in the punctuality of the airline industry, either.”

This reference to fate or destiny, as well as to Hadley’s incorrect assumption about the airlines, is the first textual clue that fate will be a factor in the narrative. Hadley is incorrect in her opinion of the airline industry, as her flight does indeed leave on time, and the narrator implies that Hadley is equally incorrect in her assumption that destiny does not exist. The implication is that her meeting with Oliver is meant to be.

“Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?”

This question at the end of the Prologue introduces The Unpredictability of Life and Love. The rhetorical question suggests that most people would not assume that four minutes can change “everything” about their lives, and it also foreshadows the fact that Hadley’s life does change in several significant ways due to this seemingly insignificant occurrence.

“In the end, it’s not the changes that will break your heart; it’s that tug of familiarity.”

During the first six months that Andrew Sullivan was in England, Hadley felt that he had become like a stranger to her, but now, when she hears his voice in person and smells his familiar scent, the familiarity of him hurts. She has been so angry that she doesn’t realize how much she has missed him until they are together again.