My bladder was absolutely screaming at me.
I'd needed to pee before getting on the coach but for some reason I didn't bother using the ladies' room prior to boarding. I NEVER use the bathroom on those things, but after just over an hour of holding I would have broken that rule had the toilet not been out of order. I sat cross legged in the window seat with my hands firmly between my thighs, pressing against my privates and subtly jigging my leg in an attempt to hold it in. I tried to take my mind off my urge by watching the heavy traffic, but as a warm sunny day turned to tropical-storm levels of downpour my only distraction became raindrops racing down the window against a backdrop of street rivers and windscreen wipers. That certainly did not make my life any easier
Two hours in and we were in stop-start traffic. My bladder was in physical pain, my urethra muscles were fatigued from all the holding in, and my mind was turning yellow with desire for relief.
After 2 hours and 50 minutes of torture we finally reached my stop. It was on the edge of town, and while I was already overjoyed to be off that bus and one step closer to a toilet, my place was still a 20 minute walk through town centre in torrential rainfall. Truth be told, I hadn't anticipated this weather - I had no umbrella nor coat nor jumper and I was regretting my decision to go braless that morning. All I was wearing was a t-shirt, my indigo jeans, and some tatty & beaten Chuck Taylors. It's rare that beautiful summer weather will transform into one of the worst rainstorms you've seen all season but I suppose that's British weather for you.
Before long I was soaked, my hair was sopping, my shoes were waterlogged, and I was shivering violently from the cold. I dashed through the rain best I could but I was so scared of accidentally letting go of my bladder that it was more of a brisk walk.
As luck would have it, it was Sunday. At this time of day there were no shops or cafés open at all, nowhere with a restroom, no public bathrooms, nothing. I knew my best bet was the McDonald's - it would be a detour from my place but so long as I could relieve my bladder I didn't care. I crossed through town, uphill past rivers of rainwater doing my best to stay dry but failing miserably. As McDonald's entered my sights I stepped one foot straight into a puddle, filling one of my already saturated trainers.
The blast of hot air from the restaurant was an oasis of warmth and comfort amongst the sea of cold, wet misery that was the outside.
I marched straight past the kiosks to the back of the room where I thought the bathrooms might be and... keypad? These were the public restrooms, ladies and gents, why was there a keypad lock? I jiggled the handle in obvious frustration before I finally looked up to see the sign on the door in big black letters.
"RESTROOMS ARE FOR CUSTOMERS ONLY - PLEASE ENTER CODE AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR RECEIPT"
Bastards. What utter bastards.