Why does john tell Elizabeth to cut some flowers? What does the author reveal about their realtionship?

At the beginning of the 2nd act of Miller's "The Crucible", John Proctor tells his wife Elizabeth to cut some flowers to "brighten up the house" because he wants to fix their broken relationship. He knows that she hasn't forgiven him the adultery with Abigail. Whereas John is acting kindly and attentively, Elizabeth is cold on purpose. Later in the act, the painful subject would occur again.