Excess baggage

Eye bags run in Nando's family; his father had bags too, and so do all his paternal relatives. When he was young and fit and his skin more firm and he had black curly hair to balance out the face, the bags were not so noticeable. But they had become more so in recent years as the hairline receded, then disappeared entirely, and the skin lost tone.

Nando did know, or know about, some men who had undergone surgery to remove their bags. He was thinking about doing the same, but needed a little . . . incentive. I could be that incentive. He wasn't manipulating me in this effort because we were both fully aware of his interest and intentions. What was missing was some catalyst on my part.