...and then she came and sat RIGHT [ DOWN ] NEXT TO ME TO TALK !

Now now, Jackie, we all make mistakes.

Like, for example, you left out the word "down" in your post.

A reader up north might mistakenly think that the germ-carrying woman had sat down in the pew
right next to you and not to the left of you but on your immediate right.
The northern dictionaries, you see, don't carry the definition of "right" that means "close up".

Don't thank me.