He looked at me as if I was out of my mind. “No, but I know of her! She’s a very well-known person in Ethiopia. She’s sort of one of my heroes, actually.” Well, that was interesting. “She’s been a fierce advocate for women’s and children’s rights for decades, and lately she’s been talking about LGBTQ rights too.” He had a look of complete awe on his face when he said that. “She’s fearless. I go to see her speak whenever she comes to the university.”

It didn’t occur to me Elias might have known Saba. I knew she was a well-respected figure here, but for me she was like an aunt. It was wild that he was this starstruck by her.

“Just say hello,” I told him with an encouraging smile, completely charmed by his shyness and excitement. “She’s looking forward to meeting you. I told her about your research.”

He gave me a panicked expression. “You did?”

I rolled my eyes because he was too freaking cute. “Yes, she thought it was really interesting.” I grabbed his hand and tried to pull him toward the door. “Come on, let’s go in.”

He didn’t move, and when I looked back he was giving me that intense look he did sometimes, his lips slightly turned up on the corners. My heart raced and I resisted moving closer while we were still outside. It was hard, though.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“How else could I look at you, konjo?” His tone was completely matter of fact.

He was going to kill me.

My thoughts must have shown on my face because he winked at me and tugged on my hand. “Let’s go inside.”

Saba and Elias got on like a house on fire, and within minutes they were in an intense conversation about the history of the fight for women’s rights in Ethiopia that lasted all through dinner.

While we all took bites from the amazing spread of food on the table, Saba paused to look at me, then turned to ask Elias a question. “So, Elias, what do you think is the role of men in the fight to end misogyny in our country?”

He took the bite of food he’d had in his hand and sat back, chewing and thinking.

“I want to challenge Ethiopian men to be a part of our liberation from all the harmful constructs oppressing women in this country. It isn’t right and it isn’t fair to expect them to once again carry the burden of fixing what they didn’t break.”

Saba beamed at me, then pointed at him. “Good answer.”