Hearing Things

I was lying in bed, taking care of some writing, when Zoe walked in.  She flopped upon the mattress and hung her head.

Me:  What's wrong, Zoe?
Zoe:  Daddy didn't listen to me.
Me:  Did he hear you?  You know Daddy can't hear very well.  [This has happened in the past.]
Zoe:  He heard me.  We were looking at a math problem and I wanted to tell him my answer.  But he didn't listen.
Me:  Well, okay.  Let's talk to him.  But maybe you and Talia were speaking at the same time and it was just too much.
Zoe:  No, Talia wasn't talking.

Zoe went downstairs to get Tim.  In the meantime, Talia came up.  Zoe told her the same thing she told me.  Both of them decided that at the time Zoe was trying to tell Tim her answer, that Talia was indeed silent.

Me:  Zoe is upset that you didn't listen to her.
Tim: Umm, sorry.  Were you trying to tell me something at the same time Talia did?
Zoe:  No, Talia wasn't talking.

Tim retreated for some time into his head and replayed the whole event.

Tim:  I had my head down, didn't I? 
Zoe:  Yes.
Tim:  I was grading the papers and I was looking down at the table.  I thought your voice was Talia's just telling me the answer again.  Sorry, honey.
Me:  Zoe, he can't always tell the difference in your voices.

Zoe smiled.  Tim did a little test, with his eyes closed.  He had the girls say some things and he picked the right voice with the right girl.  But I'd bet two bits that in a non-controlled setting like the one in our dining room, he'd get them messed up again.