Well you can always come up with a reason she might otherwise wear a ring! Maybe she got a lot of shit from her mostly-male compatriots when she started out — unwanted dinner invitations that would NOT let up even after she said no thanks, so she started casually mentioning her boyfriend, never mind that she couldn't possibly have time for a boyfriend. Nonetheless, the harrassment lightened up, so when she got assigned to southeastern Kentucky she just started out with the ring.