(Strip Number 4154, Original Publication Date, 29 March 1982)
Panel 1: We find ourselves at the bar where John and Ted hang out every so often; John holds up a beer mug without a handle and tells Ted that his leaving Connie has hit her pretty hard.
Panel 2: Tentacle-fingered Ted tells him that he's just not the family type.
Panel 3: John points out that he'd made promises to Connie and let her think that they'd be married.
Panel 4: John is gobsmacked when Ted makes a stupid joke about how it's not his fault that Connie has an imagination.
Summary: I can see why John is pissed at Ted. That's because I know that he's fairly literal-minded and thinks that his friend doesn't care about the damage he left in his wake. The problem is that he lets his anger at Ted get him so upset that his normally high stress level gets turned up to eleven; what it also does is turn off the part of his brain that realizes that if Ted isn't really all that willing to settle down, forcing the issue is a recipe for disaster.
