John versus understanding pregnancy.

You will no doubt have noticed that when John finally had his cast removed, he was all about how Elly couldn't possibly imagine how uncomfortable it was to be in a cast because she had never experienced something that awkward and painful in her ultra-easy existence; her attempt to ask him to imagine being pregnant seemed to have put him in his place but it seems to me that all she did was succeed in confusing him. The reason that I say this is that I remember his going to Lamaze class and standing around with a look of horror frozen on his face because he felt so awkward being there. Did it matter that Elly felt like she'd gained a ton that she was sure that she wasn't going to lose or that she was in steadily increasing discomfort? Not really. This is because it seems to me that John cannot see pain that he doesn't feel as being real. The part of him that's baffled by Lizzie running off crying when he comes up with a clever line or outraged that people aren't grateful to be bossed around by an idiot is the part that should be alerting him to the fact that since the other person's discomfort matters to them, it should matter to him. Since that guy failed to report in for duty, we're dealing with someone who doesn't have much in the way of empathy or remorse.