GUELPH, ON – Area boyfriend and apartment dweller Jonny Terefenko, 26, recently noticed that over half of the items in his apartment of fours years currently belong to his girlfriend of less than two months, Shelley Cabot, 27.
“The apartment’s definitely changed lately,” Terefenko told reporters from his living room couch where he sat propped up by two fuzzy pillows that were recently purchased by his girlfriend. “Sometimes I’m a little surprised by it all, but I suppose it’s normal when you’ve been dating someone for a couple of weeks.”
While Terefenko said the pair didn’t hit it off immediately, Cabot began adding personal items to his apartment a few weeks after they started dating. A toothbrush and other accessories have joined a growing list of items that Cabot has moved in. Other items include books, furniture, and a framed collection of Cabot family reunion photos
“Some of my other belongings had to go because Shelley had stuff I already owned, and it didn’t make sense for us to have doubles,” he said. “For example, we got rid of my toolbox because Shelley had her own set of electrical power tools. They’re much better than mine so it was a no-brainer.”
“I’m not allowed to use them though,” he added.
“There are new rules too, and rules can be good,” Terefenko said as he sipped tea from a light blue mug he didn’t recognize.
“I mean, I didn’t know it wasn’t hygienic to leave dirty clothes lying around, and that all the tabletops have to be cleaned every twenty-four hours with the special soap.”
“This lemon-vinegar all-organic thing—it takes a while to clean and forever to dry, but Shelley says it’s better for the wood.”
Despite the fact that Terenfenko is the only name on the apartment’s lease and the only one paying rent, Cabot has managed to obtain a set of keys and sometimes asks her boyfriend to leave for the weekend when she needs some downtime.
Friends and apartment neighbours agree that a dramatic transformation is taking place within the apartment, but their attempts to warn Terefenko have been unsuccessful.
“On two occasions when Jonny wasn’t around, I saw Shelley moving boxes into the place,” said Tim Washburn, a concerned neighbour who lives across the hall. “She had some men helping her move large furniture, too. There was a big desk.”
When asked about these larger additions taking place, Terefenko maintains there were good reasons in each case.
“She didn’t tell me about the desk at first,” Terefenko said. “But she’s had so many city contracts lately for her job, and since I live closer to downtown, it made sense for her to set up her office here.”
“We had to get rid of my desk in the process because it was smaller,” continued Terefenko, “and besides, I make less money than she does.”
Cabot has also allegedly organized much of Terefenko’s comic books, sci-fi novels, and video game consoles. “She did a really great job of finding space,” Terefenko said with a slight twinge of bereavement in his voice. “They’re all arranged really nicely in cardboard boxes in the back of my closet.”
“Some of my boxes might have gone missing,” Terefenko added. “I mean, she said they were misplaced. The apartment’s not that big, though. Now that I think about it, she wouldn’t just get rid of my stuff, right?”
As Terefenko brought reporters through a tour of his apartment, he stumbled over a box full of hoodies and sweatpants marked ‘Goodwill.’ He then muttered something about being presentable for Shelley’s girlfriends.
He then paced around the living room, bumping into furniture he didn’t notice was there. At this point the door opened and a female voice cheerfully called his name.
“Oh God,” Terefenko said as he retreated to an impeccably clean carpet and curled into the fetal position. “Oh Mother save me.”
In a follow-up interview, reporters visited a week later and found Terefenko in his lobby, where he was having difficulty with his keys.
“I think she changed the lock,” he said.
