Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of sexual content.

The phrase “five minutes” is a motif repeated throughout the novel. It indicates a break from the normal, with Hudson and Allie utilizing the phrase when they want to do something difficult. It is an important phrase to them because Hudson uses it the first time that they meet. When they are in the ocean, Hudson uses it to reassure Eva and Allie that they will be in the boat and safe very soon. He tells them that “it will take us less than five minutes to get you both in the boat,” and that “anything is doable for five minutes” (8-9). Allie remembers this phrase over the next decade, using it as motivation during her ballet, just as Hudson uses it when he is training. When she dances the consecutive turns in Giselle, she pauses just before she begins and thinks, “Anything is doable for five minutes. His voice slipped through my mind” (29). Throughout the novel, the phrase is often repeated, serving as a joke between Hudson and Allie in reference to their first meeting.

Ultimately, this phrase often serves to emphasize a need for

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