What this costs, honestly

Almost nothing, which is why people do not believe it.

Looking up from the phone when somebody speaks. Answering the thing about the car. Asking about the thing they mentioned yesterday, once, the next day. Getting up when they come in instead of shouting hello from the sofa.

The reason it feels like a small idea is that it is a small idea. Its effect comes from the number of times it happens, not from the size of any one of them. A marriage is mostly Tuesdays.