Content Warning: This section discusses heart failure, chronic illness, and medical trauma.

Expiration Dates explores the contrast between fate and choice, symbolized by the notes that Daphne receives. She believes that these notes represent a promise from the universe, not only telling her how long each relationship will last, thus protecting her from heartbreak, but also promising that she will live for that span of time, thus protecting her from her own mortality. Daphne claims that the notes allow her to “hack the system” because she knows when to invest in a relationship and is never “blindsided” when it ends (28). However, the notes ultimately leave her feeling resigned to her fate rather than excited for the future.

Daphne allows the notes to structure her relationships with both Jake and Hugo rather than trusting her own emotions. For instance, though Daphne is attracted to Jake and has feelings for him, she often feels the need to reassure herself that the notes have dictated that this is the man she is meant to be with. Rather than feeling joyful and excited about this prospect, she resigns herself to the choice the universe has made for her.