I’d seen her sing ‘Summertime’ at Rosies wine bar, had been struck by her beauty & ability. Note perfect & carrying the tune to that little crowd.

Then she turned up in one of my classes, sitting at the back & staring at me as i talked on counselling issues. She seemed interested yet not as though these were ideas for others but not for her.

The second week after class i set out to walk across the city to go home & she fell into step with me.

I live near you she said, just around the corner.

We talked of Rosies, though i didn’t go there anymore leaving that to my ex & her viper friends.

The Singer did not want to talk of that place, which helped with the unease i felt walking along the city streets with her: what did this beauty want with me?

As we came to her place she invited me in, come & look at my animals she offered with a wide smile.

I went in, the place was all bare floorboards, minimal furniture & a brown musty smell.

Leading me through to the back she showed me a large cage & in it were a couple of hens, ducks & a legion of mice running around.

My immediate instinct was to get out of there asap: some atavistic instinct fear of vermin.

is that a rat? i asked.

Laughing she said yes, we catch them in the house & garden & keep them here.

I was pushing to get away by now, come look at my bedroom she said, eyes wide.

Gotta go i flustered as she put her hand on my arm trying to lead me upstairs, gotta go!

& ran away to my place just around the corner.

Just as i turned, looking back i saw her man going into that house at a clip & a great wave of feeling came over me that of escape & relief.

The Singer never came back to class, i never saw her in the street where she lived which was odd as we did live close.

I did sometimes see her fella who always looked furtive when he saw me, like he had a motive or some grudge he’d yet to resolve.

Maybe, i thought at the time, he’d expected to find me in her bedroom or in some clinch as we looked over her vermin.

Then much later the bigger story emerged as one of the viper friends of my ex confided (she’d been ousted from that vicious group for failing to victimise another mark) this had been a honeytrap.

I was expected to fall for the beauty to be found kissing or trying to kiss the Singer by her man.

She’d then claim attempted sexual assault & report this to the authorities & my employer.

I’d lose my job & be exposed as an exploiter of my students.

This could only be a wine bar drunken stupid of stupid ideas.

Of all the times my instincts have kicked me to run away as fast as possible, this must be one of those i am most grateful for.

Yes, i appreciated her beauty but she wasn’t for me, she was a student with the distance ‘hands off’ professionalism gives, it wasn’t the rats nest she lived in, it was pure instinct that ‘something’ wasn’t right here.

Summertime & the living?

Was not easy

Neil Benbow

©neilbenbow2026