When we came out of the guesthouse he walked me to an older model Toyota Corolla and held the door open for me. I sent myself another reminder that I was not on a date and got into his very well-cared for car. “Wow, this car is pristine.”

He seemed pleased at my noticing, and by the compliment, but when he spoke he was a little apologetic. “I’m a bit intense about it. Taxes for cars here are really high. And it’s almost impossible to get a loan from the bank. It took me a long time to save enough to buy it, so I make sure I care for it.”

I smiled at the obvious pride he had in his car and thought of how different things were for us. Even knowing as much as I did about the many inequalities in the world, a lot of them were just that: something I knew about. Not something I’d needed to live with, or through. My work exposed me to them, yes, and I hoped in some way I helped bridge those gaps, but I was always at a safe distance. I didn’t really have skin in the game, not like Elias and Tsehay did. Maybe that was why they held themselves to such an impossibly high standard.

“You’re a man who knows how to care for things, that’s for sure,” I said, unable to keep the admiration out of my voice, or my mind from marveling at how he cared for the people in his life.

Elias’s smile was the exact reaction I’d been hoping for. “And I employ that care in taking us where we need to go. Are you ready for some beer, pizza, and music, Desta?”

His energy and smile were infectious, and I felt one blooming on my own face as I answered him, “I am so ready.”

Chapter 10

The “beer garden” turned out to be a microbrewery that made four varieties of delicious German-style beer on site. The owner was an Ethiopian man who’d lived in Bavaria for decades, and had returned home to start his own business.

The place was a trip. Decorated in a mix of German and Ethiopian kitsch, it was packed with people, and there were servers buzzing around in lederhosen, shouting in Amharic and handing off huge steins of homemade beer to customers. The place, the food, and the company had me feeling so content I closed my eyes and sighed deeply after one too many slices of pizza—which apparently was the most popular item in the menu despite not being exactly German.

After a moment, I felt Elias clink my stein with his. I opened my eyes and clinked back, once again pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to be with him.