Blurb: After Henry Tilney's death, he is sent to a "good" neighborhood to spend the rest of eternity. A Good Place AU. Jane-uary 2025 event.

THE GOOD NA-BORHOOD

Day 7: Servants

Chapter Summary: Henry meets Mr. Thorpe, another resident. Thorpe enlists Catherine's help to throw a party to welcome Henry to the neighborhood.

Henry couldn't tell if Thorpe thought of Catherine as a servant or a girlfriend on demand.

Before leaving the building, Michael gave Henry a brief tour of the gothic-looking abbey they were in. This large and imposing ediface contained Michael's offices and a number of open doorways displaying elegant yet empty rooms and an even larger number of closed doors. As none of the residents occupied the building, that was all of the interior that Henry was allowed to see, but he was given an open invitation to return if ever he had a problem that Catherine couldn't solve.

Outside the abbey was a gravel drive. Fifteen minutes' walk past open fields and an allée of trees brought them to an English-style village, complete with a central square and war memorial. This space was considerably more crowded and Michael took delight in introducing him to people as they passed.

"My man Michael!" one such resident called out in greeting.

"T-Dog!" Michael said in reply, clapping a hand on the man's shoulder and shaking it. "You have to meet your new neighbor, Mr. Tilney. He just arrived."

T-Dog turned out to be Mr. Thorpe, the self proclaimed human leader of the neighborhood. Thorpe welcomed him loudly and promised that Henry would just love it here before he turned to the Architect. "You know what this means, right? Party!"

Michael laughed goodnaturedly and agreed. The two settled it quickly between them that Thorpe would host a welcome party for Henry that night at his home, Thorpe Hall.

Henry started to politely protest. "Honestly, I'd prefer a quiet night tonight. You know, it's only my first night dead. There's still a lot to process."

"You're not one of those, 'I'll sleep when I'm dead' people!" Thorpe complained. "Wait till you see my place, Mr. Tilney; it's amazing. I must have been a very good boy to deserve it." He then looked slyly at Michael. "I suppose this means I'll get the help of my best girl to get everything ready for tonight."

"Of course," agreed the architect.

"Catherine!" Thorpe shouted.

With the welcoming strum of a harp, the assistant was standing next to Henry. "Hello," she greeted them.

"Tilney, have you met Catherine? Can you believe how cute she is?" Thorpe asked, already stepping closer to her.

"Yes," Catherine answered for him, chipper smile on her face. "We met in Michael's office and Mr. Tilney has already said that he finds me attractive."

If Henry wasn't fascinated with the dynamic between Thorpe and Catherine, he'd probably be stammering in protest.

"Don't get any ideas, Tilney," Thorpe told him, trying to make it sound like a joke. "Catherine is my girl." Henry couldn't tell if Thorpe thought of Catherine as a servant or a girlfriend on demand.

"I am not in fact your girl," Catherine stated unequivocally but without grievance.

"Well, you belong to the neighborhood, and I live here. It's my neighborhood. Logically, that kinda makes you mine," he reasoned.

"By that same logic, I am Mr. Tilney's as well," countered Catherine with her immovable smile.

Thorpe gave Henry a warning look but his words ostensibly were for Catherine. "It's hardly the same. He just showed up today, he doesn't have our shared history. But I'm going to need your help to pull together a soiree for this guy. My place, tonight: think you can handle that?"

She blinked, completely unphased by the charm or offensiveness he was oozing. "Of course. Let me take care of it. I will follow the recent standards for a welcome party." And then she turned away to start distributing invitations to anyone else in the square.

"Catherine's a dream come true," Thorpe said. "By the time I walk back to my place, it'll be clean and drinks will be chilling in the fridge. See you tonight, Tilney," he took his leave, walking toward the second largest building in the neighborhood.

Watching him go, Henry was struck with an almost visceral urge to knock Thorpe down. Every button Henry had had been pushed. For the life - no, death - of him, Henry couldn't imagine how any intelligent being could think it good to put both men in the same neighborhood.

.o8o.

After Thorpe had gone home and Catherine had gone wherever, Michael concluded as well. "I don't want to give you the full tour now; humans take real joy in exploration and you have the rest of eternity to figure this place out. Just remember, the abbey is to the north and the church is to the south. You should be able to figure out the rest of it from there."

"About that church?" Henry asked, not sure how to phrase his question. All of this had been overwhelming but he at least understood that Michael was not an angel. He had assumed that also meant no god, but what if he was wrong? "Do we have weekly religious services? Are we expected to attend?"

"No," Michael said sadly. "Dead humans don't really pray to a god that doesn't exist when they can just ask Catherine."

"Hello, Michael," Catherine said from out of nowhere. She had a small splash of glitter across one cheek that left her looking rumpled but she was no less eager to help.

"Oh, no, Catherine, I didn't mean to call you," Michael dismissed her.

"Goodbye, Michael." And she was gone.

Michael merely gestured at the space Catherine had briefly occupied. "You see what I mean," he sighed. "But I think the church looks pretty, and I'm the architect, so I get to put it here if I want."

Henry almost smiled at that admission, but swallowed it to ask if Michael would now show him his new home.