chapter three:
icebreakers

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Thankfully, Beth doesn't wake up the following morning wondering whether she fell asleep in a nightclub. At the distinct lack of Ariana Grande and giant ladybirds, she takes her time to come to her senses before comfortably climbing downstairs in her pyjamas. When her feet land on the floor, Beth finds her soulmate already wide awake and perched on a stool with his long limbs.

"Morning," Sanjay smiles, gesturing to the counter. "Breakfast for the lady of the house."

Surely enough, just behind him stands a small tray — there is a plate with poached eggs and avocado on toast ("Whole-grain, of course," Sanjay clarifies) with a glass of lemon water, accompanied by a glass vase displaying bright yellow flowers.

Beth feels an unfamiliar wave of delight trickle over her. "Wow, thanks, you didn't have to do that," she says, her voice creeping up with happiness. But she does not hesitate in taking a seat and helping herself. She delves straight into a bite of avocado toast, the flavours immediately melting on her tastebuds. "Oh, this is good... d'you want some?"

"Oh, no, I already had my muesli," he nods politely.

     Instead, Sanjay watches her intently enjoying her breakfast. Beth feels her cheeks flush as she reaches for the glass of lemon water. She takes a tentative sip; there is a light citrusy aftertaste to it.

"I've always heard that lemon water's supposed to be good for you," she says.

"Well, it's refreshing more than anything, but it has some benefits. Great for digestion. And you can't go wrong with a bit of vitamin C."

     "True," Beth smiles and nods. Of course he'd say that, she thinks.

Sanjay attempts to rise from the stool but knocks his knee on the corner of the counter. She sees his gentleness flinch, fighting every urge to curse out loud — even if it is censored in the Good Place — before he sighs out the agony with a smile. "Are you ready for our little day out?" he asks. "'Cause I'm making it my personal mission to make sure you have the best time."

"Your mission? Wow, that's committed."

"It'll be fun. So, you ready?"

"Let me eat my toast first!" Beth chuckles.

"Oh, right, right..." he chuckles sheepishly, but also somewhat impatient.

Once she does, and she has gone to get dressed, the eager soulmates are practically straight out of the door. It is only then that Beth realises that she hasn't been on a date — if that's what they are calling it — in a long time. There was a time when her boyfriend was in the picture, but... well... that ship came and went and sunk. Beth shakes the thought from her head. She has Sanjay now, after all. And so far, what's not to love?

However, by the time they reach the town centre it becomes painfully evident that Beth and Sanjay don't know what to talk about. Aside from commenting on the trees, or saying hello to passersby, they have otherwise walked in awkward silence. Where do you begin a conversation with your universe-assigned soulmate? Neither of them know where to start.

"Maybe we could... grab something to eat?" Beth suggests. "I know we just had breakfast, but..."

"It's an activity."

"Yeah, exactly."

Sanjay looks up to the nearest storefront and frowns. "Do you fancy another froyo from... My Big Non-Fat Greek Frozen Yoghurt?"

Beth hums with slight distaste. Frozen yoghurt isn't at the top of her list. "On second thought, maybe we should keep walking."

"Hey, you guys! Having a good day?" The bright and cheery voice comes from one of their neighbours, Gunnar, beaming from ear-to-ear. He has just walked out from My Big Non-Fat Greek Frozen Yoghurt with a pot of the stuff in his hand.

Sanjay and Beth chuckle nervously amongst themselves. "Uh, yeah, we're good," he replies, then adds in a whisper: "We're actually on a date."

Her cheeks burn at the mention of it. Sanjay said those words, not her.

"Oooh, nice. You guys should try the Icebreaker."

"The Icebreaker?" Beth echoes..

"Yeah," Gunnar smiles, turning around and pointing to a colourful vending machine near the clam chowder fountain. "I used it with my soulmate on our first day. This place anticipates that things might be kinda new and nerve-wracking with your new soulmate, so it gives you conversation prompts to break the ice. Get it?"

"Oh, I see..." Sanjay perks up with interest. "That sounds brilliant. We'll give it a go. Cheers, mate."

"Just take a ticket and you're all set. Have a wonderful day!"

"You too!" Beth calls after him; once Gunnar is gone, she turns to Sanjay and whispers, "Am I stupid for thinking he meant an actual icebreaker?"

Sanjay laughs and shrugs. "No. It's difficult to know with this place. C'mon, let's check it out."

The Icebreaker in question is nestled right in the path of the clam chowder aromas wafting their way; unfortunate, but a risk worth taking. There is a thin dispenser with three different-coloured buttons above it, each labelled with a different level of 'personal-ness' for the icebreaker.

Green is 'PLAIN AND SIMPLE'

Orange is 'PERSONAL'

Red is 'PROFOUNDLY PERSONAL'

And then there is an additional category, a smaller dispenser outlined in jet black, which reads: 'SO PERSONAL YOU'D RATHER TAKE IT TO THE GRAVE (AGAIN)'.

     "Let's start easy, shall we?" says Sanjay. He presses the green button and a ticket slides out of the dispenser with a matching emerald border. Taking it, he smooths out the ticket and squints at the writing. "Alright, first one. If you could learn any new skill right now, what would you want to learn?"

     Beth purses her lips, humming in thought. "I want to know how to chop food quickly."

     "What– really?"

     "Yeah. You know when you see professional chefs — or actually, just friends of mine I've seen do it — they can chop up onions or tomatoes or anything in such a smooth motion. Me, I have to go ridiculously slow..." Beth sighs, feeling slightly embarrassed at the admission. "But if that doesn't work out, I guess knowing how to make balloon animals would be a cool party trick."

     Sanjay blinks at her, perplexed at first, before he scrunches up his ticket. "Fair enough. I can't argue with that."

     "My turn," she giggles, reaching for the green button again and taking a ticket. "What movie can you quote from beginning to end—"

     "Jurassic Park."

     "... Wow. You're keen."

     Sanjay's eyes suddenly brighten up like a little kid, grinning so widely that it startles her. "I've watched that movie so many times, you have no idea, I think the whole script plays in my head when I go to sleep every night. The first time I saw it I was completely mind-blown."

     Beth lets out a light laugh, even more surprised when he doesn't seem to back down. "It is a very good film," she agrees.

     "Uh, no. It is the best film to ever grace Planet Earth, and more humans need to realise that," he adds passionately.

     Where can I find a screening of 'Jurassic Park' in the Good Place? she begins to wonder.

     Sanjay's gaze travels to the orange button, curiosity sparking in them. "My turn. I reckon we could give this one a go now." He takes the next ticket, this time with a citrus orange border, and reads it silently to himself at first. His brows fly up in alarm as he chucks it aside. "Nope, not doing that one," he quickly chucks it aside. Beth grins as Sanjay takes one more ticket and, seeming happier with this question, poses it to her:

     "Which family member are you closest to?"

     Beth's smile wobbles on her face. It feels like she had been running freely through this whole rapport with him, so distracted she hadn't noticed the giant orange hurdle coming up ahead. The question trips her up and leaves her flailing in tortured silence.

     "Um... well, I..."

     Sanjay continues staring at her. She feels a sweat break out across her back. This question shouldn't be difficult. And yet, it is.

     "Sorry, it's a bit of a loaded question," Beth says, attempting a laugh that comes out nervous and breathless. "Er, what about you?"

     "That's easy. My mum."

     That's easy. The words taunt her, as though she had failed some sort of test. "What's your mum like?" she asks.

     She expected Sanjay to be the open one, considering how quickly he'd answered. But instead, he takes her by the shoulders and turns her around. "Let's walk," he says, and so Beth does, falling into step with him. "I want to know more about your family. Where you were born, where you grew up, did you have any siblings? That sort of stuff."

     So much for dodging the subject. Also, why couldn't he say something first? Beth blows out a breath past her lips.

     "That's quite a few questions in one go, but alright. I was born in Norwich. Raised in Norwich as well. And to answer your third question, yes, I have an older brother. His name's Henry."

     "What's Henry like?" Sanjay asks eagerly.

     Beth goes quiet for a few moments, chewing on her bottom lip.

     "He's... really creative. Which is probably why he went into making documentary films. And he's good at it. He likes to travel, he loves seeing the world. He's a real people person, you know? Not a mega extrovert or anything, but he knows how to communicate and can make you feel like you're really being listened to." She pauses for a moment, allowing a weak but fond smile to creep onto her face. "He looked out for me a lot when we were kids. We're close in age so we did most of our schooling together, and most brothers might be annoyed by that, but Henry... he wasn't. Back then, he quite happily let me into his world."

She leaves the finer details unsaid: He can communicate and listen to people, just not her. He took off without properly saying goodbye after he finished school. His job seems so fulfilled and perfect compared to hers. He hardly calls anymore.

To answer the earlier icebreaker, Beth supposes her answer would be her brother. Henry was the one she was closest to. Until she wasn't.

"He sounds like a good guy," Sanjay says.

"Yeah, he is," she nods.

"What about your parents? You haven't mentioned them yet."

Oh fork. Not this. Better to rip off the band-aid, she supposes. Beth tries to state it as factually as possible: "They divorced when I was sixteen. It had been quite a few years in the making, I guess, but I really hoped they'd just stick it out. Mum's been with her partner for a while now, who's actually really decent. And Dad... well, I don't know where he went after the divorce. Not exactly. Somewhere in France, he told me at the time, but I never did get the proper address from him. So... yeah."

She expects more questioning from Sanjay at the rate he's going. Yet she seems to have finally rendered him speechless. He stares at her like a blank slate, not quite sure how to process that information. Beth feels herself quickly jumping in to smooth things over.

"It's fine, you know," she says, "it was years ago. People get divorced all the time these days. I read something in an article recently which said that nearly 50% of marriages end in divorce so, you know, it's not like I had– I don't know– a sob story or anything. It could have been a lot worse."

Beth cringes at each word that comes out of her mouth, feeling as though she's squeezing something acidic into an old wound which stings. What's worse is that Sanjay still seems slightly speechless. Please say something, she thinks desperately. They are beginning to leave the urban part of the neighbourhood and onto a path surrounded by trees.

     The voice that finally speaks belongs to neither of them.

     "Sanjay, Beth, hello! How wonderful to see you!"

     Tahani Al-Jamil's voice rings like a bell through their surroundings — she is walking towards them, a wide brimmed hat sat on her silky hair, dressed rather more like she should be attending a high society garden party. Walking by her side is Eleanor, who Beth remembers mainly for being drunk and stealing shrimp on their first night. However, this Eleanor seems to be much more sober, holding a matching basket to Tahani's.

     "What are you two doing out and about?" Tahani asks.

     "Oh, we were just having a day to ourselves," Sanjay replies, smiling at Beth, "getting to know each other."

     "Such fun!"

     "And you?"

     "We were doing some rounds to all our neighbours, including you," Tahani says gracefully. "Things have been a bit bumpy in our introduction to the Good Place, but it's important to keep calm and carry on. That's why we — well, I — prepared these gifts for all the residents. Go on, Eleanor, the gifts..."

     After sighing outwardly at the term 'dear friend', Eleanor lifts the lid of her basket to reveal freshly-baked scones. The delicious aromas have Beth's mouth watering immediately. "Take 'em. It pains me to say it, but they are seriously forking good..."

"I don't know," Sanjay hesitates, "I usually stay away from most baked goods unless—"

"Dude. Take the damn scone."

Alarmed by Eleanor's directness, Sanjay reaches into the basket and takes a scone, whilst Beth has already sunken her teeth into her first helping. The taste that greets her mouth makes her beam instantly. "Oh my God that's amazing!" she blurts out after swallowing a mouthful. "There's something different about them. What is it?"

"Maple butter," Tahani clarifies. "I got the tip from my good friend Mary... Berry."

The unprompted name-drop is the only thing that can distract Beth from her maple butter scone. Meanwhile, Sanjay chews pensively on his own scone, as if trying to fight between his mind and his heart while deciding his verdict. "It's... not bad," he decides at last.

"Splendid! Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds to it. You two seem such perfect soulmates. So... communicative. Anyway, we'd best be off, right Eleanor?"

     "You got it, pal," Eleanor deadpans.

     Beth furrows her brows at her. She thinks Eleanor Shellstrop might be the first person she's met in the Good Place that isn't brimming with positivity and cheer. Then again, she doubts anyone got into the Good Place by having an easy life. Remembering the countless people she met at Tahani's party, activists and humanitarian who worked hard and in gritty conditions, Beth has no doubt that Eleanor has probably done the same thing... she can afford to be a little bit cranky, right?

     Once the basket-bearing duo have walked away, and are out of earshot, Sanjay's knees buckle in as he exclaims his true feelings about the scone:

     "Motherforker, that's good!"

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     Opting for something other than frozen yoghurt, Beth and Sanjay find themselves dining at Ponzu Scheme for lunch. The restaurant boasts a wide variety of Japanese cuisine, all heavenly delicious. Sat opposite each other with a plate of sushi and sashimi between them, they tuck in whilst chatting away — or more specifically, Sanjay rambles about the health benefits of sushi.

     "Did you know this seaweed actually contains iodine? It's essential for making thyroid hormones, and you know by now that I never shut up about thyroid function—"

     "Sanjay..." Beth cuts him off graciously. "Could I ask you something?"

     "Uh, yeah. Sure." Sanjay rests his napkin in his lap and props his elbows on the table, staring intently at her.

     She drums her fingers on the tabletop. It isn't exactly a casual question to ask... or maybe it is. Not everyone has a messy, mixed-bag family like Beth does. "Earlier on, when we were talking about our families, you mentioned your mum. But then you seemed quite keen to deflect and you started asking me all those questions instead."

     "... So?"

     "So, what about her? I like to think it's alright to know more about the woman who brought up my soulmate."

     "My mum. Well..." Sanjay leans back in his seat, the chair creaking. He stares off into the distance, as if really having to comb through his mind for a good answer. It is with a one-sided shrug that he finally answers: "I assume she's like any other mum. Smart, caring, plenty of tough love. My upbringing and my home life was pretty straightforward, really. Happy enough. And I don't have any siblings, so no fun stories there."

     Beth nods along, listening carefully. Although she can't help but feel like Sanjay just said a lot without saying anything at all. He seems quite keen to only skim the surface of his relationship with his family. Even if she understands it, why does he get to choose who spills their guts and who doesn't? As soon as she has the thought she retracts it guiltily. Still... Beth wonders if she could find a way to probe more.

     He continues: "I guess... I didn't know how to respond to what you said earlier, 'cause I've never had that. It sounded like... a lot."

     Beth soaks a sushi roll in the soy sauce for far longer than she should, quiet and pensive. "It's no picnic, I can tell you that."

     A pregnant pause passes.

     "But you were close with your grandmother, weren't you? That has to count for something."

     "Yeah, but it was also different," Beth points out. "I went to see her on weekends or in the evenings after school. She wasn't living in the same house as me. And anyway, Nan's been gone for about ten years now, and according to Michael she's in the Bad Place, so..."

     The brown leather cushion sighs as she sinks back into the chair. Sanjay is staring off to the side, not quite able to meet her eyes. He's uncomfortable. Oh no. Oh no, no, no.

     "I'm sorry. I'm completely ruining the mood."

     "Don't worry, you're not," Sanjay quickly interjects. "Besides... who needs families when you have soulmates?"

Beth considers this for a moment. She is in the Good Place, after all, with no family in sight. The sooner she can let go of that burden, the better. And this place is filled with almost everything she could wish for in Heaven. Surely she has no excuse to be unhappy here? In light of this, she picks up her light ginger ale and lifts the glass into the air.

"I can drink to that," she half-smiles, clinking her glass with Sanjay's. They each take a sip before returning to their meal. "Anyway, you were saying something before... about the seaweed?"

Sanjay blinks at her in confusion. "Oh, you mean about iodine?" he asks.

"Yeah. I cut you off earlier, so tell me more about it."

In all honesty, Beth would prefer not to hear all the details about her food — good or bad — whilst she is eating it. But she figures that compromises should be made for your universe-approved other half. She folds her arms across the side of the table and turns her full attention to her soulmate, listening and nodding as he starts talking about metabolism. Instead of dwelling on the past, she tries to focus on Sanjay, the present, studying the way he talks and moves his hands and looks around. He still remains a bit of a mystery, albeit a warm and interesting one. Beth intends to spend however long eternity is picking apart that mystery.

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A/N:

how did we find this chapter?? it was short & sweet but i liked it. we are starting to get a bit of backstory, it'll be drip-fed more throughout act one and onwards. beth's family will become quite important to the story, although in act one we're mostly chilling (👀) in the good place so their interactions are obviously limited. meanwhile, sanjay seems to be holding back a bit about his past, only scratching the surface.

there was a really helpful map of the neighbourhood i found online but i think it spans all 4 seasons of the show, so if my big non-fat greek frozen yoghurt and ponzu scheme weren't actually there in season 1, just... pretend they were 🫣 (p.s. hopefully my food facts weren't wrong, i did quick searches on google for them all... damn it this chapter made me really hungry, and the next one won't be any better; you'll see why when chapter 4 comes out)

while i'm here i would like to thank you for 1K reads! never thought people would be interested in a good place fic, but i'm glad to see i was wrong. in the next chapter, i'm planning for beth to start interacting more with the soul squad, so stay tuned!

( PUBLISHED: 27th June, 2024 )