It’s hard to run in a wedding dress

This is a bit from my novel, Honeymoon Heist:

 Suddenly the propane tank belched and popped out a final burst of flame.  “Uh oh.”

“What was that?”

“We’re out of gas.”

“Do we have a spare?”

“I wish.”

“Oh God.”

They both looked down.  Geoff frantically pulled on the handle as he watched the ground race up at them.  “Oh crap.  We’re gonna hit.”

“Aaahhh! God!”

The basket screamed toward the trees.  Tina grabbed Geoff.  They hugged each other and screamed.  “AAAAAAAAHHH!”

The balloon dove into the top branches at speed, the basket ripped through the tree.  Snapping twigs sounded like a thousand firecrackers.  “AAAAAAAAHHH!”  Broken twigs flew in all directions, like shrapnel.  Geoff covered Tina with his arms and back.  The balloon’s cloth ripped into the tree making a terrible shredding noise, finally caught in the branches and abruptly stopped with a bounce.  The basket hung three feet in the air.

            After a stunned silence, Tina took a breath.  “Very nice.  I think my spine is an inch shorter.”

Geoff looked up at the giant shredded rag that saved their lives.   “That’s not gonna be cheap.”  He looked down.  “You’re okay.  We have to jump.”

“Oh God.  I had to wear a full wedding dress.”

“You look beautiful, Tina.  Now jump.”

“Easier said than done.  Help me get this thing over the edge.”

Geoff and Tina struggled with her dress.  “It doesn’t have to be pretty now, just shove it up and over!”  They finally got it up on the edge of the basket.

“Here you go -- get your legs up.”

She hopped up on the edge of the basket.  “Get the skirt -- there.”

“Got it.  Go!”  Geoff gave her a little push; her eyes exploded into a startled stare as she dropped off the edge of the basket.  “Aaahhh!”

As Tina dropped down, her dress went up over her head and she landed with a thump.  “Ow!”

Geoff cringed.  “Ouch.”

Tina looked up in anger.  “You pushed me!”

“Sorry, you okay?”

“Yeah, lets get out of here.”

Geoff jumped, landed with a thump.  “Ow!’

“Serves you right.”

“That way.”  Geoff pointed toward the lights and they took off running.  Twenty yards into the brambly woods a deer looked up, cocked his antlers as he watched Tina dodge her way through the trees and brush in her wedding dress.

Tina’s dress caught on everything; it was being torn to shreds.

A few pages later she has to swim the Rio Grande in what’s left of her wedding dress.  No worries.  The river, thanks to the drought, many dams and irrigation, isn’t very deep anymore.