I was invited to have

"coffee" with someone yesterday. You know the sort of thing I mean. You sit in a place which serves coffee and food and talk to each other.
In this case she talked to me. I knew this was going to happen when she asked. I knew this person had invited me for the express purpose of having someone to talk to. She needs to talk.
I could have said no, especially as it was time I did not really have. I actually got up even earlier than usual so I would have time to listen.
I pedalled off and I did listen. I said yes and no in, hopefully, the right places. I asked, hopefully, the right questions. Hopefully, I looked interested.
It's not what I wanted to do at all but I needed to do it.
And I am glad I did it because, as she finished her coffee the real reason for her invitation became clear. She had a cancerous lump removed from her skin last week. It is the second time this has happened and she is frightened.
This woman comes from overseas. She is divorced from the man she married here - although she assures me they are "still friends". He lives in a remote area. She was very lonely there. 
She has one child but does not seem to see much of him. She is, I think, still intensely lonely despite her volunteer work.
And she needed someone to talk to, someone to share her fear.
I hope I did and said the right things because I am trying to work out how I would feel in her place. I think I would be frightened too because loneliness is frightening.