What does Section A in "Happy Endings" suggest about what readers want in a story?

The first story in Atwood's "Happy Endings" suggests that
readers want to be hooked by the "how" and "why" of events and characters in a story. 
By the end of section A, the reader learns that John and Mary have all the luxuries in
life and that they are superficially happy, but at the end of the story, they both die
and have no story left to tell.  At the end of "Happy Endings," the narrator says that
readers should be concerned with the hows and whys of the journey, not the whats of the
end. 

Further, section A sets up "Happy Endings" as a
satire on the role that romantic fiction plays in building up our sense of ideal
relationships.  In this case, the reader wants to be reminded that believing in such
ideals is absurd and fruitless.