Why don’t people answer the question asked?

This is really somewhat of a vent for me.

I am not talking about people straying off subject on fluther. I’m talking about asking my inlaws a question and they answer something else, or won’t state what they want without a lot of work on my part. I guess maybe they just don’t want to answer the question, but I also think possibly it’s a communication thing. Like I’m asking the wrong way.

Examples:

My MIL’s sister was recently hospitalized, it was very serious, life threatening, but she is finally home.

My MIL has considered flying to see her, and just now she was telling me that she talked to her a couple of days ago. I asked her if she had skype so they could see each other. She said yes they have skype, but she couldn’t see her, just talking. I asked her, “do you want to see her on skype?” She replied, “we talked on Skype and I couldn’t see her.” I said, “but if you call her again, would you like to see her if she wants to do the video also?” She said, “we couldn’t see each other.

OMG?! WTF?! It’s constantly like this.