Mahaba Ni Tongo

By Shantayna Nezazi, Josie Lewis and Casey Lewis

Chapter Two: Goodbye America, Hello Africa

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Author's Notes: Hi again, Shani with the second part of Mahaba Ni Tongo. Me, Casey and Josie are on vacation at the moment so we had much more time to write the second part of Mahaba Ni Tongo. We changed our minds and this story will be approximately 5 parts long. This one takes place a month after the last one. Just to recap, Monica is pregnant, Chandler got a promotion and they have decided to move to Nairobi, Kenya. More will be explained later on :) – Shani, Casey and Josie.

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Monica Bing lay in bed feeling really ill.  She was three months pregnant and was a week away from moving to Kenya. She was really excited but she hated this morning sickness thing. Her husband Chandler was sitting on the side of the bed in a bathrobe and was stroking Monica's hair. He hated seeing his wife feeling so ill but he knew they were gonna get a wonderful reward at the end of it. He smiled as Monica opened her eyes and smiled at her husband.

"Hey Chandler," she said as she yawned and stretched.

"Hey sweetie how are you feeling?" asked Chandler.

"I've been better," said Monica. "But it's only another 6 months. I can't believe this time next week we will be moving to Kenya."

"I know it's pretty unbelievable," said Chandler. "I mean I used to be afraid of being with someone for the rest of my life and having a child but all that fear has gone and it's all because of you."

Monica had tears in her eyes and smiled. Chandler leaned down and kissed her deeply on the lips. They broke the kiss a few seconds later. Monica went into the kitchen to have breakfast. The gang had been distant the past month. They were upset that Chandler and Monica were moving, especially Joey who relied on Chandler and Monica for his supply of food. He would miss them so much when they left. Monica made some toast and sat down to eat it at the table. Chandler emerged from the bedroom in a suit ready for his last day at work. He was glad to be leaving a job he had been stuck in for the past 10 years almost.

"Hey Mon. I gotta go to work now. I'll meet you at lunch time," said Chandler as he picked up his briefcase.

"Okay" replied Monica. "Don't be late."

"I won't. See you at 12:15," said Chandler with a grin.

He gave her a quick kiss goodbye and disappeared out of the door. Monica handed her notice in a week ago and was off work. She had managed to get a job at a restaurant that specialised in serving game meat in south Nairobi part time until the baby was born. Monica decided to go to see Rachel who was taking the day off to spend with her daughter Daniela. Ever since Rachel had her daughter she and Ross were inseparable. Daniela was the thing that had brought them together, a wonderful little girl.

Monica got dressed and went over to Ross' apartment where Rachel was sitting, drinking coffee and watching her daughter colour in a picture. Rachel enjoyed being a mom. It was something she didn't think she would enjoy but she certainly was. Daniela was a well behaved child, it was hard to believe she was half Ross and half Rachel.

"What are you drawing?" asked Rachel.

"You and daddy," said Daniela.

Rachel laughed and heard a knocking at the door. Monica was standing on the other side.

"Hey Mon," said Rachel.

"Hey Rach," replied Monica. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," said Rachel.

Monica walked into the apartment and sat down. Daniela looked up, saw her aunt and ran into her arms.

"Hello auntie Monica," said Daniela enthusiastically.

"Hey sweetie," said Monica.

"Would you like a drink Mon?" asked Rachel.

"Yeah just orange juice please," said Monica.

"Can I have some milk?" asked Daniela.

"Yes of course," said Rachel.

Rachel made the drinks and came back.

"Rach I wanna talk to you about me and Chandler moving to Kenya" began Monica.

"Are you really gonna go through with it?" asked Rachel.

"Yes," replied Monica. "It's something both me and Chandler want but you guys have been well distant recently and I just wanted to know why."

"Oh Mon. We don't want you guys to move," said Rachel. "We would miss you too much."

"I know so would Joey, Ross and Phoebe but you guys seem to be I don't know more distant than everyone else," said Monica. "I mean we'd miss you guys a hell of a lot more than we'd miss you."

Rachel had tears in her eyes but quickly wiped them away.

"So um what about your apartment?" asked Rachel.

"We've sold it to this really nice couple who were looking for a place in Greenwich," said Monica.

For the next two and a half hours Rachel and Monica talked about the happy times and the sad times and finally about the move in a week. It was the day they had secretly all been dreading; the day the gang broke up They knew they would all have to move on sometime they just didn't think it would be so soon. Monica glanced at her watch and saw it was approaching 12.

"Hey Rach listen I had better go because I promised Chandler I'd meet him for lunch. Thanks for the chat," smiled Monica as she got up.

"Anytime," replied Rachel.

They had a goodbye hug before Monica left. Rachel sat on the couch and sighed.

Chandler was waiting outside a café for Monica. He looked at his watch and sighed. It wasn't like her to be late. Suddenly he felt a pair of arms around his waist and he turned around to see Monica smiling at him.

"Hey babe," said Chandler, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey sweetie," said Monica with a smile on her face. "Where do you wanna go?"

"Here is fine," said Chandler.

They went inside and ate lunch. They mostly talked about the move and the arrangements for when they got to Kenya. They didn't talk about how the rest of the gang was feeling about them moving because it didn't seem to enter their mind how much the gang was going to miss them. Joey seemed to be taking the worst of all; he wasn't eating as much pizza as he used to and he spent most of his days watching Baywatch, well there was still some Joey left in him. Nothing was going to be the same when they moved.

The next week passed quickly. The morning of the move Monica and Chandler woke up at 6:00am, got dressed and had breakfast. All of their stuff was packed in boxes and was waiting to be collected by the removal men. Rachel and Ross appeared in the doorway with Daniela closely followed by Joey and Phoebe.

"So this is it then," said Ross, with a tear in his eye.

"Yeah this it. We're leaving," said Monica, beginning to cry again.

"Shh, shh sweetie don't cry," said Chandler putting his arms around his wife and kissing the top of her head.

Just then a young couple came into the hallway and saw the six. The woman looked at her husband and politely cleared her throat.

"Hi Monica and Chandler isn't it?" said the woman. "I'm Donna and this is my husband Sam. We spoke on the phone about the apartment."

"Oh well it's all ready for you to move in when you are ready," said Monica, wiping her tears.

"OK hey where are you moving to?" asked Donna.

"Nairobi in Kenya," replied Monica. "It's just me, my husband and our son or daughter. I'm pregnant."

Donna smiled politely. Just then two little boys aged about 5 came running into the apartment.

"Hey Danny, Nathan! Stop running about!" snapped Donna.

"Sorry mom," said Danny, looking at the ground.

Monica looked at the two little boys and smiled. She couldn't wait til her own child was born.

"Well we'd better be going," said Monica. The gang are waiting for us downstairs."

"Yeah. Bye Donna, bye Sam. Enjoy the apartment," said Chandler.

Monica handed them the young couple the keys and headed off for JFK airport. They were still nervous about going to Kenya but it was something they really wanted to do. Chandler's company had provided them with a big house in a really trendy district of Nairobi. It was where all the business people lived and there was a really good private school at the end of the road that the baby could attend (A/N: In Nairobi school is only mandatory for children up to 14 but you can continue on after that if you want to. I am :) – Shani)

At the airport the stuff from their apartment was loaded onto a private cargo plane and Chandler and Monica went to the check in desk. They were in first class. When their luggage was loaded on the couple turned to the gang and it was obvious everyone was crying.

"Well I guess this is it," said Monica, who was really crying by now. "Goodbye everyone."

"Bye you two. Chandler you take real good care of her," said Ross. "I'll miss you sis."

"I'll miss you too bro," replied Monica.

They shared a hug and Ross kissed her on her cheek. Daniela walked up to her aunt and hugged her.

"Bye bye auntie Monica. Please come back soon," said Daniela who had tears in her eyes.

"We'll be back next summer," promised Chandler. "With your new cousin."

'This is the final boarding call for flight 7856 to Nairobi. The last call,' announced the PA system. 

Monica and Chandler took one final look at their friends and turned to board the plane. They took their seats in first class and smiled at each other. Monica lay her head on Chandler's shoulder and immediately fell asleep. She was getting really tired because of the pregnancy. Chandler knew they had 6 more months of this but he was looking forward to the end result; a healthy little baby.

As Ross, Rachel, Joey and Phoebe watched the plane take off they blinked back more tears.

"Wow I can't believe they are really gone," said Joey. "I never really thought they would leave and now they have."

"I know what you mean," added Phoebe. "I mean I know they're in love but not so much they had to leave the country."

They sighed and headed back to their respective apartment buildings. When Joey arrived back in his apartment building, he saw Donna picking up a rather heavy box.

"Hey let me help you with that," Joey offered.

"Oh thanks. I'm Donna I live at number 20," said Donna.

"I'm Joey, Joey Tribbianni," said Joey. "My best friends used to live where you live now."

"I see. Anyway do you wanna come over later for a beer?" asked Donna.

"You bet!" said Joey, a little over enthusiastically.

Donna looked at him strangely.

"I am married," said Donna.

Joey's smile fell.

"Oh," he said. "Is your husband gonna be there?"

"Yep and our sons," said Donna.

Joey smiled and he would come over at 8pm.

Meanwhile Ross and Rachel got back to their apartment. Ross went and got himself a beer from the fridge while Rachel went and put Daniela to sleep.  She came out looking happy. She sat down on the couch and Ross joined her.

"Man I miss them already," said Rachel. "I still don't know why they needed to leave the country."

"They wanted to start a new life in Africa," said Ross. "Man I never seriously thought they would really go through with it."

"I know," said Rachel.

Rachel kissed him which soon lead to other endeavours…

The plane soon touched down in Nairobi. Monica was awake now and Chandler was asleep. He looked out of the window and saw the sun was shining brightly and a man was chasing a zebra from the runway.

'This is your captain speaking. We are now at Nairobi airport, the local time is 8:00pm," said the pilot over the PA system.

Monica shook Chandler awake.

'Sweetie," she whispered. "We're here. We're in Africa."

Chandler immediately woke up. He looked at Monica and saw the man chasing the zebra. He rubbed his eyes and kissed Monica. Then he got up and helped Monica up too. As they walked down the gangway into Nairobi airport, they saw a man with a sign that said 'Bing' on it. Chandler and Monica walked up to the man.

"Hi are you Chandler Bing?" asked the man.

"Yes I am. This is my wife Monica," said Chandler.

"Excellent. My name is Daniel Mawulode," said the man. "I am the local company representative."

Daniel showed them their car that the company was providing and also they keys to the house. He drove them down to the house which was beautiful. It was an early colonial house with a large veranda and a huge porch. It also had its own swimming pool and a small 1-floored guesthouse at the far end of the back yard. The house also had two balconies, one in the master bedroom and one in the guest bedroom. Altogether there were 6 bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a game room and a study as well as a loft.  Then over a small hill was the lake where the local kids went swimming in the summertime. It was summer at the moment compared to the winters of New York. Daniel arranged to call round later to finalise the arrangements for Chandler's new position at the company office in Nairobi.

Monica and Chandler looked around their new house. They were really excited to finally be in the middle of total paradise. They could hear the calling of various tropical birds and other animals. The moving men had been and left all their furniture and stuff in the living room. They sat down on the couch and smiled at each other. They heard a knocking on the door. Monica went to answer it. A woman was standing there with her hair braided down past her waist. She smiled and there was a little girl next to her.

"Hi. I'm your neighbour. Mary Hari," said the woman. "This is my daughter Adeleke."

"Hi," she said in a shy voice.

"Hi there Adeleke. My name's Monica," said Monica. "Do you want to come in and meet my husband?"

"Okay," said Mary.

Monica showed Mary and Adeleke in. Chandler was still sitting on the couch waiting for Monica to come back. Monica came into the living room followed by Mary and Adeleke.

"Sweetie. I want you to meet some people," said Monica. "This is Mary and Adeleke, our new neighbours."

Chandler stood up and shook their hands.

"So how do you like Kenya so far?" asked Mary.

"It's paradise," said Monica dreamily.

"Well I have lived here all my life and it gets boring after a while," said Mary, twiddling with one of her long braids.

"Really?" asked Monica, surprised.

"Well it's really hot here during the summer and freezing during the winter. There's no water, hardly any food and you have to try not to get killed by lions when you go walking about," explained Mary.

Monica and Chandler looked at each other and then at Mary. They saw the teasing in her eyes and then laughed.

"Well if we're having bad weather season it happens," said Mary. "Anyway not meaning to be rude but we have to go."

"That's okay," said Monica.

"You two must come over for dinner tomorrow," said Mary. "I'll see you at 6:30."

Chandler and Monica smiled. Mary left with her daughter. Monica sat on the couch and Chandler put his arm around her. He loved her more and more as each passing day went. Even more than ever now because she was pregnant with his child and because they were now together in sheer paradise (A/N: As you know I am from Africa but what I just wrote for Mary is true. – Casey :)

"What are we gonna do tomorrow?" asked Monica.

"Just stay in and enjoy each other's company?" suggested Chandler, half joking.

"No I think we should go exploring and also register with a local doctor cos I think I am about due another appointment to check on the baby," said Monica.

Chandler smiled and rested his hand on her stomach. A hornbill called from a tree and a lion roared in the distance. They walked up to their bedroom and the bed was already in there. They opened the doors that went onto the balcony. The sun was setting and the oranges, reds, yellows and ambers basked the savannah in a gorgeous light. A herd of Zebras were drinking from the lake and it was a scene out of a movie or maybe a painting. But it wasn't a movie or a painting it was real life.

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Author's Notes: Okay I am gonna leave it there cos me, Josie and Casey are tired. Anyway please review. I don't think this was the best but please read & review. All positive feedback is appreciated and if you wanna please e-mail me Shantayna shani_kyesi_nezazi@ananzi.co.za or Casey and Josie Casey_Kewl_Girl@ananzi.co.za

Shani, Casey and Josie :)