That's because I too thought she'd skip over the one where John gifted Elly with an appliance instead of a
Panel 1: We see Elly on the phone. She's telling Anne that she indeed gave JSF some hints as to what her Christmas gift should be.
Panel 2: She said to buy her something frivolous (I'll return to that adjective later) and expensive that she could show off to her friends.
Panel 3: She surmises that what they had was a failure to communicate.
Panel 4: She explains that she wanted a
Summary: Say it with me, folks: John is stupid, useless and filled with malice. Whatever. Let's just cut to Elly telling Connie to not start a conversation with "I'm single" and get the week over with.
ETA: On further reflection, I think the joke really is that John was being sensible when Elly wanted him to be irrational. Damn him for giving her a thing she needs instead of something she wants.