It didn’t seem possible, but the beach felt even more crowded than before as we hiked across the sand on the walk back to the car. In the past hour, the urge from my bowels to relieve myself had only strengthened, and it was at the point where if I didn’t give the situation my full, undivided attention, I was likely to end up with a messy diaper as well as a wet one.

As we continued walking, I was sure that if I paused and stood still, if only for a handful of seconds, that I would lose the last grip of control that I had over my bowels. We were about half-way back to the car, so maybe another ten minutes before we got there, and the drive from the hotel to the beach had only been another ten minutes or so. If I could just hold out that long, I’d be fine.