Chapter 4
One slow night, way past midnight, as Quark polished glasses behind the bar, Colonel Kira sauntered up to him. She had not been visiting the bar as often as she used to, but work had it that Rathaus was off the station for a few days on a business trip. The room was in a quiet lull, the few new patrons present and all of the regulars were deeply involved with their drinking. The bartender took one look at the expression on her face and immediately reached for his private stock of Maraltian seev-ale. "Long night, Colonel?"
"I'm not discussing this with you Quark," came her terse reply.
"Then what about discussing it with Vic? I hear he's an expert in the field of love and life."
Her face darkened even further and the frown deepened into her features. She had not seen Vic since the night Odo left for the Great Link. Kira hesitated a moment, then sat down on a barstool. "I'd rather talk to someone who knows something about marriage"
"I may have only been married for a few days, but I've seen a lot of marriages." He leaned up against the bar. "You'd be amazed at how much of life you can see in a bar. People come in search of companionship, date here, fight here, make-up here, break-up here - a few even get married here."
Quark stopped polishing drink glasses to study her. "Let me guess. The happy groom isn't as accommodating as he seemed at first?"
"What would you know about it?" Suspicion gave her voice a steely edge.
"Like I said, I've seen a lot of marriages. Perhaps the excitement has worn off and you're wondering if you've made a mistake." She sighed and studied the bottom of her empty glass. The Ferengi was worried, Kira should have torn him to pieces for such a presumptuous statement. In fact, the Kira should not have come to him at all, yet she had, quite definitely, sought him out. "At least he's rich," Quark comforted her. "You can drown your sorrows with ancient liqueur and jewels."
"You know me better than that," she exclaimed suddenly, staring emphatically into his eyes.
"I thought I did," he said, then decided to push harder. "Why did you him marry so quickly? I never took you for the materialistic type." His voice grew more serious and took on a pained quality. "You could have waited a little for Odo's sake, you know."
Her face grew darker and tears welled up in her eyes. "We both know that Odo isn't coming back," she hissed, then slammed her glass down on the bar and stalked out.