(Strip Number 4521, Original Publication Date, 10 October 1985)
Panel 1: A few minutes after the phone call, a flabbergasted Elly reminds John that Connie moved to the Lakehead to get away from Ted and his malicious inability to make up his mind before telling him that just a few days ago, the jerkwad showed up on her doorstep.
Panel 2: Elly goes on to tell John that after simply tossing Connie and her emotions aside like an empty bottle because of some unknown and irrelevant factor, his latest filthy trick was to show up, bleat piteously about how he can't function without her so would she please come back to Milboring because this time, he'll marry her, he promises.
Panel 3: When John asks what her answer was, Elly tells him that she turned him down flat.
Panel 4: She then gleefully stretches that tossed-aside bottle analogy by saying "No deposit... no return."
Summary: Ted's belief that he somehow magically has the right to decide Connie's fate for her because he's The Big Man continues to come back to haunt him. Odd, though. It's bad when he does it but when Mike squeals about how unfair it is that women get to decide things, he's a great guy. Guess it's a Patterson thing....it's only wrong when people Elly hates do it.