Eleanor and Park: Chapter 32 Summary & Analysis

On Christmas Eve, a box of pineapple arrives as a gift from Eleanor’s aunt and uncle—and along with it, a letter inviting Eleanor to come up to their home in Minnesota for the summer to attend a camp for gifted high school students. Sabrina, touched and overjoyed, reads the letter aloud—Richie instantly protests sending Eleanor away. As the younger kids fight over the pineapple box in the background, Richie grows frustrated, and turns his attention away from Eleanor and onto them. He angrily passes out unwrapped Christmas presents to the children to shut them up, and then hands Eleanor her present—a 50-dollar bill. Eleanor has trouble enjoying her siblings’ excitement, though—she misses Park terribly, and wishes she could go over to his house.

Later in the day, Sabrina comes into Eleanor’s room to tell her to get ready for a family outing to the grocery store. Eleanor suggests that Richie is too drunk to drive them all, and Sabrina accuses Eleanor of trying to ruin a happy day and “undermin[ing]” their family. Eleanor reluctantly agrees to go along on the trip. At the grocery store, Richie waits in the truck while Eleanor, her mother, and her siblings do the shopping. At the register, Eleanor gives her mother the 50-dollar bill—her mother doesn’t thank her.

Meanwhile, Park and his mother are at the grocery store, shopping for Christmas dinner. Mindy spots Eleanor with all her siblings and points her out to Park, but the nervous Park insists they move on through the store without saying hello. He knows that greeting Eleanor could get her in a lot of trouble, especially if Richie is in the store.

That evening, after dinner and a movie, Mindy comes into Park’s room and gives him a present to give to Eleanor. She tells Park that she comes from a big family, too, and understands how, in such families, “everybody [is] spread so thin.” Mindy apologizes sincerely and tearfully for how she initially treated Eleanor.

After Park’s parents have gone to bed, he dons a coat and sneaks out through the back door. He races to Eleanor’s house and walks around to her window, where he taps at the glass. There is no sound from within or movement of the curtain—but after a few moments, Eleanor’s face appears at the window and she mouths for Park to head for the school nearby.

The narrative switches to Eleanor’s point of view. She is shocked to discover Park at her window—shocked, happy, and scared. After sending Park over to the school, Eleanor gets dressed and sneaks out to meet him on the steps of the elementary school. As soon as they are close enough to touch, Park takes Eleanor’s face in his hands and kisses her deeply. They both begin to cry, and as they break apart, they apologize to one another for their actions before kissing some more. They stay outside together on the steps in the cold until their feet and faces are numb. Eleanor promises to come by the day after Christmas before hurrying home through the dark.