exactly!
You can NEVER take things for granted, our reality may not be the same as our partner's, and communication plays a fundamental role in that situation, and as you say, we can't read our partner's mind, we don't know what they need and what they don't need if we don't hear them say so.

i think that some couples always live in a constant conflict of "you never help me in anything" and when you ask the person who complains if he/she has ever asked for help verbally the answer is going to be "no".