(Original Publication Date, 7 January 1991)
Panel 1: Having noticed that Elly hasn't calmed down and realized that no horrible crisis is actually taking place, John asks her what's wrong with her. What's wrong with her is that she thought that they were going to be a brick wall of judginess and ignorance together.
Panel 2: When she says that she doesn't want Mike to have the motorcycle he stands no chance of getting (by which she actually means that she doesn't want Mike to want one in the first place), John makes the foolish mistake of trying to point out how much they cost and how much insurance Mike would have to shell out before reminding her that he wouldn't possibly be able to afford one.
This is futile because Elly wants to be pointlessly angry about a non-possibility to compensate for all of the times she stood around inertly watching actual disasters taking place. Also, she wants her children to be wonderful and not want things that her mother would never approve of so Marian would finally say that she is right and pretty and smart and good.
Panel 3: He continues to do something stupid by telling her to say that a boy has to dream because there's a certain romance in wanting one. He did too.
This is futile because Elly point-blank refuses to understand the male mind.
Panel 4: We see this in motion when she reminds him that he got smart. Since he is smart, he only thought-bubbles that he got married.
Summary: We're about to see what this arc is really about tomorrow when Elly boasts about being an a constant state of panic about the improbable.