Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: Bad Days: Chapter 32 Summary & Analysis

Dr. Temple is glad that Eleanor is “finally getting in touch with [her] anger” because it means that she’s becoming better equipped to deal with the issues she’s repressed. It’s hard for Eleanor to feel anger, and it’s also hard for her to settle into her new routine: in addition to not having work, she also doesn’t have vodka as a fallback. In place of these activities, Eleanor cleans her apartment, listening to the radio as she works. She entertains the idea of inviting Raymond over and of sprucing up the place, perhaps buying another plant.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings. A deliveryman is there with a basket of flowers from Eleanor’s coworkers. It makes Eleanor happy that they’ve been thinking of her. Eleanor puts the flowers down on the coffee table and continues to clean. When she’s finished, a pop song comes on the radio. Eleanor listens to the music, looks about the place, and feels happy. She realizes she hasn’t had any vodka in a few weeks now, not even to help her sleep. Eleanor’s thoughts are interrupted by a text message from Raymond, who asks to come over that night, as he has a surprise for her.

Eleanor realizes that nobody’s ever asked to come over before. She heads to the corner store to procure supplies for tea. As she stands in line, she hears a couple ahead of her mispronouncing the word “tagine” and corrects them. They respond coldly to Eleanor’s unsolicited information, but Eleanor doesn’t mind.

When it’s Eleanor’s turn to check out, Mr. Dewan smiles at her and tells her she’s looking well. Mr. Dewan finishes ringing up Eleanor’s groceries and asks her if she’d like anything else. Eleanor looks at the bottles of vodka behind the counter but grabs an issue of the Telegraph instead. 

Eleanor returns home and prepares for Raymond’s visit. He arrives holding a cardboard box in one hand and a bulging plastic bag in the other. Raymond opens the carboard box to reveal a fat black cat with green eyes and covered in bald patches. Eleanor picks up the cat and buries her face in its fur. Raymond sets up the litter box and explains to Eleanor that his roommate, Desi, rescued the cat, who had been placed in a bin that had been set on fire. Eleanor feels a connection with the cat and agrees to take care of her. She decides to name her Glen, “after an old friend.”

Glen is lying next to Eleanor when she wakes up the next day, and the cat continues to follow her around throughout the house. Eleanor runs out and buys more supplies for Glen and then returns and spends the rest of the day with her. Eleanor invites Raymond and Mrs. Gibbons over for tea a few days later. Raymond brings Glen some “gourmet” food, and he tells Eleanor that she “deserve[s] to have nice things.” Raymond, Mrs. Gibbons, and Eleanor chat over tea, and Eleanor tells Mrs. Gibbons how lucky she is to have Raymond in her life. As Mrs. Gibbons and Raymond leave, they give Eleanor a kiss on the cheek, and Eleanor “[doesn’t] even flinch.”

Eleanor notices that Raymond left his trashy newspaper in her living room. She picks it up and sees an article about the Pilgrim Pioneers: after Johnnie Lomond left the group, they saw great success in America. Reading the article doesn’t bring Eleanor any vindictive joy, however, because her infatuation with the musician no longer feels like a part of her reality. She doesn’t care what Johnnie Lomond is doing now. The last page contains two tweets from @JohnnieLrocks. In the first, Johnnie expresses congratulations to his former band members on their recent success. The next tweet, sent some hours later, contains a series of expletives. The second tweet was “later deleted.”