I remember hearing my grandmother hum through the bathroom door as she took long, steamy baths. My mom hummed church songs in the kitchen. My sister Molly hummed doing her homework. Humming is one of those items that distinguish women from men. Men don t hum.
Women whistle, too, but humming is a singularly female thing.
This morning Maggie is humming in her room like nobody s business. Then, in a flash, she stops. I run across the house expecting the worst. I pant, crashing through her bedroom door. Maggie s lower lip is sticking out like a dresser drawer.