"Yes, the silkiness—the silkiness might seem to some like that of a woman's hands. Fortunately you are darkly complected. That makes you more masculine in a pretty boy, middle aged man sort of way." Nawin chuckled at the absurdity of someone making a study of his hands. "You haven't exactly used these things very much in hard labor, have you? Yes, if they were not so large and strong they would pass off as women's hands. What is it that you do for a living, anyhow?"
"I am an artist."
"An artist? That would explain hands like these. What do you draw?" he asked while returning the hand.
"Naked women."
"And people pay you for that?"
"They seem to."
"Do they pay well?"
"Yes, of course. I am a rich man according to you."
"In Thailand, one finds both the calloused and the silky types but in Laos even some of the higher government officials are workers in their secondary vocations. They all have the damnedest hands."
"What? Do you study the hands of government officials too?"