Paris was a lot of things, from new and trendy to old and historic.

But why was Paris one of the most beloved and most visited cities in the world? It might've had something to do with being timeless.

One such timeless thing was a recognizable shrine known as the hotel Plaza Athenée. This luxury locale could be spotted from afar by way of the lush flowered balconies and bold red awning at its entrance. Its façade was made even more recognizable thanks to 'Sex and the City,' which featured the hotel in a guest-starring role during the final two episodes of the series.

There weren't any camera crews present on this particular summer day, a doorman by the entrance, and Neela standing across the street looking nervous. She smoothed out her hair and slathered on some lip-gloss, her gaze focused in on the intimidating doorman. Was she fashionable enough to go inside? She took stock of her white T-shirt and jeans, not exactly the outfit one would wear when having a rendezvous at the hotel's high-end lounge. Her apprehension melted away when she remembered how celebrities often dressed like trash to avoid being recognized. This outfit is perfect.

She put on a pair of black sunglasses and sauntered over to the entrance. Her pace remained consistent and confident, leaving the doorman no choice but to let her inside without question.

Neela passed through the classically opulent lobby bar, its ornate touches looking polished in the natural light. The tables were occupied by upper-crust hotel guests, some of them enjoying coffee and others sipping afternoon wine.

Around the corner, the subtle natural light gave way to intense mood lighting, along with plush purple fabric and cozy curved booths topped off with modern touches.

Neela spotted Tiff at one of the booths and waved but she didn't notice. She was too busy killing time on her phone, dressed impeccably in one of her usual office wear looks, a.k.a. clothing that was ten times more fashionable than anything Neela owned.

"Hey!" Neela said, sliding into the booth beside her. "Quite a fancy locale you've chosen."

Tiff offered up a knowing smile. "Well, it's time for us to have a talk so this seemed like a perfect place."

Neela's expression darkened. "Oh my god, are you breaking up with me?"

Tiff chuckled softly. "Honey, I wouldn't have ordered you a twenty-five-euro cocktail if we were about to break up."

Just then a waiter in a crisp shirt and vest arrived with a curious pairing: two flat squares that looked like Jell-O. Tiff nodded as he set the plate on the table.

"What the hell is that?" Neela asked.

Tiff shrugged. "Some sort of amazing deconstructed cocktail that comes in a jelly cube. Apparently it is the hot thing right now." They picked up their respective squares, tapped them together as a show of 'cheers' and slurped them down.

Neela nodded. "Very nice; is that lavender liqueur I taste?"

Tiff smiled and pulled something out of her purse. It was a small velvet box. Another proposal? "Here; it's for you."

Neela gasped. "So we're not breaking up then..." She opened the box and discovered a pair of emerald earrings in a gold setting. She gasped again. "Oh my god these are beautiful! But wait...what did I do to deserve this?"

Tiff shrugged. "I figured you needed something to go with your engagement dress."

Neela was touched by the thoughtful gesture. "Wow. I can't believe it." She frowned. "But isn't it too extravagant?"

"No," she said firmly. "I mean you only get engaged once, right?"

Neela absorbed the full impact of Tiff's raised eyebrow. "Ah, I see, is this the part where we have a talk?"

Tiff folded her hands in her lap. "I don't know, you tell me; do we need to have a talk?"

For once Neela didn't try avoiding Tiff's stare. "Nope."

"Because we're leaving for the countryside in two days."

"We are," Neela confirmed. "And that is fine."

"So you're ready to move forward with this big château declaration?" She searched Neela's eyes for hesitation, but to her surprise, she couldn't find any.

"It's okay," Neela said, for once taking on the wise all-knowing vibe that was usually restricted to Tiff. "I'm not searching for him anymore. I mean maybe I never was, maybe I was just...running away."

"So that whole search thing is really over?" Tiff asked, clearly in need of a two-factor authentication response.

Neela swallowed hard, but it was only a split second of hesitation that luckily Tiff didn't notice. "I can only assume it's over," she replied. "Finding out for real would mean asking Dante, and I'm pretty sure that's the last thing he needs."

Tiff nodded. "He only just stopped wearing black."

"What about you?" Neela asked.

"What about me?"

"Are you really sure you don't want to bring a 'plus one' to the party? Because you probably have one waiting if you only bothered to ask..."

Tiff looked away. "Not anymore."

Neela sighed. "Don't get mad at me for saying this...but I really liked Xav."

"You're entitled to your opinion," Tiff said stiffly.

"Then here's another opinion: would it really be such a horrible thing to make yourself vulnerable again?"

The reappearance of the waiter spared Tiff from having to answer. She grabbed the menu and inquired about more cocktails in perfect French. As Neela watched her ask additional questions to avoid her feelings some more, she started to realize that happiness wasn't just complicated for her, it was complicated for everyone.

***

The next afternoon, it was all dark skies and pouring rain. And yet...somehow the beauty of Paris transcended it all.

Tiff did her best to balance an umbrella and an armful of bags, as she hurried to an apartment building that was located between two restaurants.

She entered the building code and burst inside.

Her eyes struggled to adjust to the darkened lobby, but when she finally focused in on the figure before her, she realized it was Xavier sitting at the bottom of the stairs.

She switched on the light and saw that he was drenched in rain.

"The landlord changed the door code last week," Tiff explained, her French words spoken in a deadened tone.

Despite Xavier's current state, he smiled. "I learned that the hard way; luckily one of your neighbours arrived before I drowned."

She didn't smile back.

"Did you forget something at my place?" she said flatly.

He stood up and slowly approached her, his wet shoes squishing with every step. "Can we please talk?"

She looked away.

"Do I make you laugh?" he said randomly.

She frowned. "What?"

"Do we have fun together?"

Tiff sighed. "Having fun doesn't mean—"

"Am I caring? Am I there for you? Does it feel like the rest of the world goes away when we are together?"

Tiff's resolve was starting to crack. She set down her bags and the umbrella. "You're right, it's been fun. But you have to understand that I've been through a lot, and I've seen a lot, and I can't just be...brand new again. And you..." she switched to English for the last part, "...well you're young and you still need to go through all your shit."

"Maybe you are my shit," he replied.

She couldn't help but burst into laughter. It had been a while since she'd laughed like that; it felt good.

"And maybe," he went on, "maybe you will be the one to put me through a lot and make me broken for someone else."

She offered up a teasing smile. "Oh, I would destroy you."

He took her hand. "Then perhaps, shall we say, that we can let the damaging shit begin?"

Tiff looked into his eyes but somehow found herself thinking about Neela. If Neela hadn't asked her that tough question about Xavier only one day before, would she have even let him say his piece before throwing him out? Yet here they were, and in a move totally unlike her, here she was giving love a real chance.

She chalked it all up to destiny—another thing she would normally never do—and wrapped her arms around Xavier without any hesitation.

***

The next day, in the sprawling French countryside, sunlight reflected off a shuttle bus that rumbled down a two-lane road.

It was really happening.

Inside the bus, family, friends and significant others had assembled for a good ol' fashioned 'Neela and Luc engagement.'

Sonya bounced up and down on Gurinder's lap like a crazed raccoon. He looked desperately at Luc who was sitting across from him. "Please tell me there's a playroom in the castle?"

Luc laughed. "Luckily yes; I have a niece and nephew her age who will also need to keep occupied."

Gurinder sighed in relief.

Meanwhile, two rows behind them, Chloe and Maneet discussed the virtues of cheese.

"I'm the only one in my family who appreciates blue cheese," Maneet said smugly.

"Which one is your favourite?" Chloe asked.

Maneet shrugged. "Just any of the blue cheese varieties I guess?"

Chloe nodded gently. "I see."

"Okay important question," Maneet said fiercely. "Which would you give up first, brie on a baguette...or sex?"

As Chloe pondered this existential question to end all time, Mom held Neela hostage at the front of the bus, their conversation as awkward as ever.

"I know you drink wine," Mom declared.

Neela blushed. "What? Come on. I drink tea!"

"I Googled it," she said.

Neela's face contorted in confusion. "You Googled...me and wine?" Neela's eyes now had that scrambling look of suddenly remembering every photo she'd ever posted online.

"I googled 'France' after you moved here," Mom explained, "and the first result was wine. I also read that France invented champagne."

Neela nodded, temporarily forgetting how much of her life she hid from Mom. "I mean yeah, champagne does come from a place called Champagne; that's how it got the name."

"I want to try it," Mom whispered.

Neela's eyeballs nearly popped out of her head. Could it really be? An 'Indian mom and daughter bonding moment' like the ones she'd seen in all those white-people sitcoms?

Oh please, this ain't no episode of Full House. Oh wait...the mom was dead in that show.

Neela shook away her distracting thoughts and eyed her mom with suspicion. "Are you wearing a wire?"

Mom frowned. "What does this mean?"

"Never mind. But wait...if you want champagne, how come up until like...yesterday, drinking alcohol was sooo bad? How come I couldn't go to any parties in high school? How come I couldn't date?"

Mom simply shrugged, which only riled up Neela even more.

"You guys were always sooo strict, but look Mom, I ended up here anyway!"

"Don't talk nonsense," Mom said firmly.

"Wait a second..." Neela said, before uttering a gasp. "How come when I was seven and got head lice you gave me a buzzcut, when I know for a fact that every drugstore in town sells head lice shampoo?" Her expression became crazed. "I need to understand!"

Mom glanced back at Luc. "Are we there yet?"

The château may have still been a hundred miles away, but maybe, somehow...getting engaged to a guy who wasn't Indian would succeed in bringing Neela closer to her family.

Maybe.