"I could eat this all day long," the Muse said. She dabbed a spot of wasabi on her California roll, then pinched it between her chopsticks and shoved it into her mouth. She made a slightly dirty-sounding moan and smacked loudly.

"I'm not sure if I should be turned on by that," I said, "or kind of grossed out."

"In Japan, it's polite to moan when you like the meal."

"Maybe not like a porn goddess, though."

"Xenophobe," she said. She swallowed a measure of saki and smacked her lips.