Then he asked Norma to marry him, and Norma, also shaken by the news that someone’s entire life can be a lie, said yes.
-- Norma (The Story Of paragraph 1)

Importance: The author sets up how easy it is to hide infidelity in a relationship and how its discovery can massively affect those who are touched by it. Norma is able to realize early on how people are affected by infidelity and it helps readers see how she feels about it. It also foreshadows the infidelity that will plague Norma and Ted's relationship later on. Not to mention this quote sets up the reader to expect the motif of infidelity throughout the stories in the collection.

Your girls are just taking a nine-month dip into the infinite.”
-- The non-boyfriend tanker (All Hands paragraph 5)

Importance: In this quote, the author gives reader a look into the minds of adolescent girls. They have so little power over their own lives that getting pregnant is one...