(Strip Number 4596, Original Publication Date, 4 April 1986)
Panel 1: We find Rage-Faced Idiot Elly screaming upstairs at Mike if he's still practicing his trumpet. He says he is.
Panel 2: She complains that she hears nothing only to be told he's taking a break.
Panel 3: She bellows about how she wants to hear more practicing because she says he hasn't done enough to take a break.
Panel 4: Michael wonders if she wants his lips to fall off.
Summary: The problem that I see is that Mike thinks that practice is futile because he doesn't get the praise Elly fears to give him lest he be destroyed. Since Elly won't share her fears because it makes her look weak and won't relent because she fears his dying in a gutter, we're in for a stupid couple of weeks of her feeling heartsick because she fears being seen as a heartless monster who dreams up ways to torment him.