When Tess walked into a shocking sight of her husband, dressed up as a devil, leaping over their six-month-old baby, she was left speechless. What on earth could Javier be doing? And why would he do it without telling her?

I wasn’t supposed to be home yet.

That thought kept running through my mind as I stood frozen in the doorway, keys still dangling from my hand. I had returned home early from visiting my sister, who was expecting.

My sister, Kayla, insisted I return home to Dante and Javier, stating she was fine waiting to give birth.

So there I was, home earlier than planned, hoping to surprise Javier and enjoy some family time with our six-month-old son, Dante.

But what I saw left me breathless.

In front of me was Javier, decked out in an elaborate devil costume, complete with horns and a red cape. My baby lay on a mattress, blissfully unaware of the chaos surrounding him.

This wasn’t Halloween, and my mind struggled to grasp this absurd reality.

Then, my husband jumped. He leaped right over our baby.

A small, strangled noise escaped my throat.

What in the world was happening?

This seemed too crazy to be happening, but it was. It was real.

“Are you insane?!” I screamed, my voice shaky. “What are you doing, Javier?”

My husband stood there, paused mid-leap, almost tripping over his cape as he landed. Behind him, his mother was calmly filming the whole episode on her phone, looking proud.

This was just another day at the office for her.

Javier yanked off his mask, attempting to calm me. “Wait, wait! It’s not what it seems! Let me explain!”

“Explain?” I shrieked. “You’re in our living room, dressed like the devil, jumping over our baby! What’s happening?”

“It’s not dangerous,” he insisted, raising his hands defensively. “It’s a tradition from Spain called El Colacho. It’s meant to ward off evil spirits and protect babies from bad luck.”

“El Colacho? You’re jumping over our son because of some village superstition?”

His mother added with a smile, “It’s an ancient tradition. It brings luck, protects the baby. Babies are vulnerable to spirits; this keeps the bad ones away.”

I felt betrayed. Why wasn’t I told?

Javier looked uncomfortable. “I didn’t think you’d understand…”

I snapped, “You should have told me! I deserve to know about something this important with our child!”

Javier apologized, admitting he was going to explain it all later.

“I wanted to be a part of it. You could have explained it to me properly so I could have joined,” I pleaded.

My anger was wrapped with disbelief and confusion, but I knew I couldn’t ignore traditions completely. We went downstairs to have the paella they had prepared, and I requested, “No more surprises. Tell me about these traditions.”

Maybe learning about his culture wasn’t such a bad idea after all…