#BloodSweatHeels Recap: “Secrets and The City” [Episode 1]

We kick off season two of “Blood, Sweat & Heels” as these NYC career gals start their day: Melyssa is working out, Mica is making out with her pet chinchilla, Barrack. Her assistant stops by to do squats while helping her lift and move a giant ottoman. Mica reveals to the camera that she is newly single, now that she has broken up with unfaithful boyfriend, Terry. She is focusing on career and moving ahead.

We rejoin Melyssa in rehearsal for…well let me just quote her directly, “ Ico-conceived a musical comedy loosely based on my life,” she explains. She giggles that people always stare at her and wonder wtf is she talking about. “I know I confuse people sometimes,” she admits. The rest of rehearsal consists of other cast mates catcalling her, “dogging her out,” and serenading her with a song about her hourglass figure. Demetria stops by to offer feedback but is quite perplexed by the scene. She did not understand the concept of acting and was ready to step in and kick some ass as the actors were “accosting” Melyssa. She then confesses that she is in the midst of a creative crisis of her own. She had to scrap the first draft of her book, Don’t waste your pretty, since it was so bad, even she could not bear to read her own writing. Perhaps because she was spending too much time on pinterest looking at wedding doilies.

At Daisy’s apartment, Mica shows up for a yogurt parfait buffet.“Daisy brings out the schizophrenia in me and I bring out the schizophrenia in her,” Mica enthuses as she describes their relationship. Daisy shares some bad news – she has cancer. When a makeup artist brought to her attention that the whites of her eyes were lime green, she decided to get checked out by a doctor. The doctors found a tumor in her liver, stage three cancer, and she has been going through chemo ever since. She credits her faith for getting her through it all. “I never thought I would be going through this at 34. I thought I would be accepting my proposal and signing my 5 year tv contract. I love God. I really do. I can’t not love God because I’m having a hard time right now.” Mica pledges her support for Daisy. “If you need to go to the doctor four times a week, I can take you,” she declares. “Girl we can find some wigs.”

Geneva is living in a new micro apartment, her seventh one in seven years and chatting with her mom about how she is making her “coins here there and everywhere.”

Demetria and her fiancé are posing for an engagement photo shoot and the photographer instructs her man on how pose to appear as though he cares about her. He seems unconvinced and even gets annoyed with Demetria for daring to touch his flavor saver chin scruff. “We are not really a PDA couple,” she explains. The photographer struggles valiantly to lighten the mood. Demetria asks her man to tell her some stories as they walk hand in hand. “Okay, a guy got shot on that corner last year, someone got stabbed in that park. There’s a gang across the street,” is his charming response. This guy’s a real ray of sunshine. “We can carve our name in the tree,” he suggests. “I got a blade in the car,” he taciturnly offers. Hmmm…incriminating much?

At Daisy’s apartment, she is preparing for an appearance on the ‘Today Show’ by popping lots of Altoids and rehearsing her lines into the mirror. Her stylist segment will focus on how women can “whittle that middle” and avoid the dreaded apple shape. “We are going to make everybody feel happy and Jesus will make them happy too,” she beams. I wonder how much his appearance fee is?

Melyssa and Mica meet for coffee and a chat about Terry, her newly discarded partner, and his lack of trustworthiness. Melyssa launches into a description of her “musical comedy” and Mica looks less than convinced. In fact, she looks as though she might have sucked on a very tart lemon. Turns out, Mica already knew all about it – she found a flyer in her little Dominican hairdresser’s salon. Melyssa has been working on this musical masterpiece for over five and a half years, and claims she has been keeping mum about this the whole time – aside from flyers in hair salons apparently.

Mel wants everyone to come to her play’s premiere, preferably as a friendly unit. Mica is unsure if she can handle proximity to Demetria (much like Demetria’s fiancee). We flash back to last season’s post rampage apology. She seems open to reconciliation, which leads Melyssa to reflect on her ailing relationship with Daisy. Mica, to her credit, keeps Daisy’s big C secret and urges Mel to give Daisy time and understanding.

As Daisy struggles to get up the stairs onto the set of the ‘Today Show’, and makes light of her difficulties. She has kept her cancer battle a secret from nearly everyone she knows and she gets a bit teary eyed discussing the process. She has a blast with Kathy Lee and Khoda as they discuss jumpsuits (which are the new cocktail dress), optical illusions and other trompe l’oeile trimming techniques. The vulnerable bravery she revealed was quite moving.

In a strange juxtaposition, the next clip, mid commercial break, is of Mica and Melyssa discussing anal beads, handcuffs and sodomy in general. Mel declares that she is an “exit only” kind of gal.

After that fun interlude, we join Geneva and Demetria as they shop for furniture and discuss Demetria’s opposition to a bachelorette party and pretty much anything fun in life. Geneva is urging her to stop acting like she is eligible for the AARP and at least get a “tasteful stripper.” “Tasteful like, don’t put your dick in my face,” Geneva clarifies.

Mica heads out for a lovely walk in the park with her mom to catch up on Daisy’s situation, dating and advice Mica once received from a Polish woman. “You find a rich man and you get a turkey baster. Bam, you have a baby,” and presumably never have to work again.

Next, Melyssa and Daisy meet for lunch to discuss the distance that has brewed between them. Daisy has the best excuse for flaking on Mel’s events ever. She drops the cancer bomb and Mel is visibly shaken and begins to sob. She realizes how petty she was being in the face of such a huge crisis. The two friends hug it out. Daisy lightens things up by comparing her baldness to fire marshall Bob.